News item | 20-11-2025 | 13:45
Minister Keijzer of Housing and Spatial Planning wants to quickly discuss measures with the House of Representatives to preserve rental properties. Private landlords in large cities in particular are selling their properties because selling yields more than renting, especially due to recent tax rules and rental regulations. Student rooms, among other things, are being sold, the minister writes in a letter to the House of Representatives.
The number of home sales by corporate and private investors increased to 29,400 homes in the first half of 2025, out of a total of more than 760,000 rental homes owned by this group of investors. This is 41% more than in the same period in 2024. Corporate investors in particular also buy back homes, but mainly in the more expensive segment. The homes sold are often in social rent or mid-range rent.
In order to preserve mid-range rental properties and student rooms, Minister Keijzer sent 4 adjustments to the rental regulations to both Houses last month. The housing valuation system (WWS) must include a WOZ price surcharge, the WOZ value of small national monuments should be included more heavily in the rental price and the lack of outdoor space should no longer result in negative points. In addition, all students must be able to conclude a one-off temporary rental contract.
The House of Representatives has issued a motion calling for these measures not to be implemented. The measures are intended to quickly accommodate landlords, making it easier for them to continue renting and ensuring that sufficient affordable rental properties and rooms remain available. Recent sales figures emphasize the need for this. That is why the minister wants to explore with the House of Representatives what measures can be taken to offer landlords more space.
Research into the Affordable Rent Act and housing valuation system
In the letter to Parliament, the minister also discusses the implementation test of the Affordable Rent Act, which came into effect on July 1, 2024. This shows that the implementation of the law has generally gone well. However, various parties, including municipalities, need structural help in applying the law. In the short term, they will be supported in this regard through, among other things, financing, meetings and the establishment of a training course for municipal officials.
The minister will also investigate whether the new construction surcharge in the WWS should continue to apply after January 1, 2028. The WWS currently applies a new construction surcharge of 10% for mid-range rental properties that are completed after July 1, 2024 and for which construction started before January 1, 2028. This is intended to encourage new construction. For developers, this deadline can be a sticking point. They indicate that due to long appeal procedures they can no longer always guarantee that they can start construction before this date. This can have an effect on the feasibility of new construction projects. The minister will inform the House of Representatives no later than 1 January 2027 about any extension of the new construction allowance.
In addition, at the request of the House of Representatives, research has been conducted into the annual indexation of the maximum rental price limits of the WWS. Various ways have been examined in which the annual percentage by which the rent may increase is determined. No changes will be made to the indexation at this time. The current method, allowing the maximum rental price limits to increase with inflation, provides certainty for institutional investors. This allows them to continue investing in affordable rental properties and absorb the annually increasing costs. A higher indexation percentage, for example inflation +1%, could put pressure on affordability for tenants.