News item | 19-12-2025 | 3:00 PM
At the proposal of Minister Keijzer of Housing and Spatial Planning (VRO), the Council of Ministers has agreed to forwarding to the House of Representatives the amendment to the bill on Strengthening the Management of Public Housing. The draft decision elaborating the law has also been submitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate. This means that all signals are green for speedy processing, so that the law and the underlying regulations can come into effect as quickly as possible. The aim is to enter into force on July 1, 2026. The law is an important instrument to tackle the housing shortage.
The minister calls on the House of Representatives and Senate to discuss the law as quickly as possible, so that the Netherlands can get started with the law. “With the Management Act, all levels of government can better and faster manage how much, where and for whom we are going to build. With shorter procedures, we can speed up the construction of affordable homes. This gives us more control over the task of realizing 100,000 homes per year.”
Novella
The novella repairs three impracticable or legally untenable parts of the bill that the House of Representatives had added via an amendment. With the amendment, two amended parts of the bill will be canceled: the absolute ban on priority for all persons with a residence permit and the handling of building permits by the Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment if municipalities decide on this too late. Finally, the novella changes a third amended part of the bill regarding the terms of the government’s preferential right to immovable property, so that this is brought back into line with the protection of property rights.
For a fourth amended section on priority for homeless families with children, the minister will – independently of the novella – define in a ministerial regulation to whom exactly this priority should apply. This scheme will soon be put out for consultation.
Decision
The decision accompanying the Management Act specifies the way in which the government, province and municipality can manage the housing construction task. For example, the decision states that two-thirds of all new housing to be programmed must be affordable for people with a low or middle income and 30% of all new construction must consist of social rentals. This objective applies nationally, provincially and regionally and therefore not per municipality, per district or per project. This leaves room for local customization. In addition, informal care and family homes in their own backyard will become permit-free. There is no maximum number of people for such a home. However, all residents must be part of the same household. Finally, the ‘Ladder for sustainable urbanization’ will be deployed for housing construction, which will allow for faster construction outside built-up areas.
Following motions and amendments from the House of Representatives, the decision and the explanation have been adjusted. For example, the explanatory memorandum now explicitly states that regions must have made agreements no later than six months after the law comes into effect about the distribution of 30% social rental and a total of two-thirds affordable housing.