“For many home seekers it is incomprehensible that they see empty floors above stores, while the housing shortage is so high. Many of these spaces could well be used as living space, but remain unused by financial thresholds and complicated rules,” says real estate expert Sophie Kraaijeveld of ING.
On Wednesday, the bank will publish an investigation into the bottlenecks when renovating those empty spaces. In addition to dampening the housing shortage, there are more benefits according to the bank. For example, this form of housing does not take up extra space and neighborhoods become livelier.
Vacancy in shopping streets is increasing considerably, catering and hairdressers fill holes
Discussions with investors and experts showed that it could help if municipalities accelerate permit procedures and are more flexible about extra parking spaces. “That is also possible, because not every home seeker needs his own parking space,” said Kraaijeveld.
Difficulty
The municipality can also offer more help to small investors who have no experience in transforming empty floors into homes, is a different advice. “The cooperation between municipalities and investors needed during the transformation process is now often difficult,” the researchers note.
A renovation is also often unprofitable because the high costs do not outweigh the future rental income, for example if the new home comes under the Middle Rental Act and therefore gets a regulated rent.
Transformation is sometimes not possible anyway for practical reasons, for example because it is not always feasible to realize a separate front door to an upstairs apartment. Or because otherwise there is too much nuisance for the store tenant: “As long as the building is rented, the renovation of empty floors cannot usually start.”