Two Amsterdam tenants had great success in reporting their landlord to the Huurcommissie rent tribunal for charging them exorbitant rent. The Huurcommissie ordered the landlord to lower the rent for a small, leaky, drafty room on Keizersgracht from 1,950 euros to temporarily 95 euros per month. The rent for another room in the same building was lowered from 1,200 euros to temporarily 93 euros.
I’m an EU citizen but not from NL. When I moved here I did have to have the bank account, address etc in the right order but to be honest I still found it very easy. It took only one appointment to get it all sorted (because I had all the elements that were clearly explained to me ahead of time). My wife is non-EU and it was a bit more complicated to get the residency but again, very efficient administration.
You should try the same thing in a country like France with total bureaucratic nightmare where they will make you come back 20 times because they need a slightly different version of document 28-B signed by the landlord, your deceased mother and the president.
I haven’t tried any other EU country apart from the NL. Although I think it’s bureaucratic, but I do find it to be efficient and systematic. Anyway, many of the problem won’t usually be experienced by the local and expats but by the newcomers e.g. non-local students in the Netherlands who is transitioning to working life there. It becomes more difficult because the real housing in the NL are very limited and in high demand.
In the UK it was really easy. No need to register at all.
Can’t argue about the housing!