The Dutch government will intervene in the free market rental prices in order to protect the middle income groups against the rapidly increasing house rents due to the housing shortage. Landlords will not be able to rent their homes at exorbitant prices above the value set by the government.
According to the statement made by Hugo de Jonge, Minister of Mass Housing and Spatial Planning, rents up to 1250 euros per month will be protected from the supply-demand game with the new regulation.
According to the new plan, a scoring system will be introduced for houses in the free market, such as social housing rented by municipalities to lower income groups, whose rent is up to 763 euros.
Scoring will be made according to certain features such as the size of the houses and the number of rooms, and a rent value between 1000 and 1250 euros will be determined according to the highest score for the houses rented in the free market, except for social housing.
According to Minister de Jonge, these systems will protect about 90 percent of rental properties, and landlords will no longer be allowed to set the amount of rent at their own discretion.
‘Hard but necessary action’
The Dutch minister considers this a “hard but necessary intervention”. Because according to de Jonge, tenants are abused a lot due to housing shortage. This affects people’s livelihoods.
The government will present a legislative regulation on this issue to the parliament in the coming months. Under the new regulation, municipalities will be able to set conditions for rental housing in certain cities or regions.
Municipalities will monitor whether the homeowners comply with the scoring system or whether they rent their house at an exorbitant price.
Minister Hugo de Jonge also announced an “affordable housing plan” for middle-income people such as teachers, nurses and police officers. According to the plan, it will be easier for middle-income groups to find a house. Municipalities will allocate houses to these segments.
Within the scope of the new plan, it is also aimed that low income groups will not be crushed by high rental costs. According to the plan, rent increase will be limited for low-income people and social housing will be allocated according to their income. Rental assistance for low-income people will also be facilitated.
The age at which young people receive housing assistance will also be lowered from 23 to 21.
The Dutch government has announced that it will build more housing for low and middle income groups. 350 thousand of the 900 thousand houses expected to be completed by 2030 will be allocated to middle income groups. 250 thousand residences will also be used as social rental houses.
Rights organizations are happy
According to organizations advocating for tenant rights in the Netherlands, government intervention in high rents is a necessary step.
In a statement to the public broadcaster NOS from the Dutch National Tenants Association, it was emphasized that the regulation would protect more tenants against exorbitant prices that have nothing to do with the quality of a home.