The circular problem — no BSN without an address, no address without a job — traps arrivals in their first weeks, and it usually rests on the assumption that full municipal registration is the only route to a BSN. It is not, and the distinction matters well before a first payslip or bank account.
Yes, and it doesn't require a permanent address if your stay is short. The Netherlands runs two separate registration systems: the BRP (Basisregistratie Personen), full municipal registration, which does require a real address you'll actually live at for four-plus months, and the RNI (Registratie Niet-Ingezetenen), the non-resident register, which gets you a BSN with no address requirement at all — built for exactly this situation, people here briefly for work or study, or who haven't found housing yet. If you're moving here permanently but haven't signed a lease, a briefadres (a correspondence address — a friend's home, an employer's office, sometimes a foundation offering this as a service) can bridge the gap for BRP registration, though it's meant to be temporary, usually capped around three months, and gemeenten increasingly push back and ask why you need one rather than waiting for a real lease. Employers relocating staff sometimes offer their own office address for this purpose. Most newcomers without housing lined up just register via RNI first and switch to full BRP registration once they've signed somewhere.