News item | 19-05-2022 | 11:00
The Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning, Hugo de Jonge, has announced his plans to help more people find affordable housing. People with a middle income now fall between two stools and people with a low income sometimes have too little left to live on after paying the rent. That is why more affordable housing has to be built and the mid-rental sector is regulated. Tenants and buyers are better protected.
Minister de Jonge: “Many people cannot find affordable housing or have too high housing costs. That affects people’s livelihoods. That is why more affordable homes must be built, in the social segment, but certainly also in the middle segment. And that is why we regulate the mid-market rent and tenants and buyers will soon be better protected.”
Mid-term rent regulation
In order to make rental housing for middle incomes more affordable, initial rents in the middle rental segment are being regulated. As a result, some of the homes that are currently in the free rental sector will fall under the regulated mid-market rent. Soon the home valuation system (the points system) will determine the rent so that a tenant pays a fair price that matches the quality of the home. The exact upper limit of the regulation has yet to be determined, but will be between 1,000 and 1,250 euros.
It is important that there remains a sufficient supply of mid-market rent and that regulation does not stand in the way of the construction of medium-sized rental homes. At the moment, three municipalities (Utrecht, Zwolle and Doetinchem) are examining the effects of different variants of the regulation on, among other things, the construction of mid-rental housing. On the basis of this, the exact design of the regulation is determined, including the upper limit of the mid-market rent regulation.
Forty percent new construction for middle incomes
More needs to be built for middle and low incomes. It has been announced in the Residential Building program that 900,000 homes must be built up to and including 2030. Regionally, we are aiming for almost forty percent (350,000 homes) of these new homes to be built to be affordable owner-occupied or mid-rental homes.
Increasing the supply also improves the position of first-time buyers. They get an extra boost through the use of well-functioning and new sales solutions. By reaching out to municipalities, developers and housing associations, the use of sales solutions such as KoopStart can be given an impulse and lead to more affordable owner-occupied homes. With the introduction of a housing permit, municipalities can also allocate affordable owner-occupied homes to people with a middle income.
A home that matches the income
Some of the people with a low income spend too much of their income on rent. Housing costs that are too high are tackled by limiting rent increases and by allocating people a home that matches their income. We lower rents for people with a low income. Higher incomes who live in cheap social housing can receive an income-related rent increase.
Performance agreements are made with Aedes, VNG and IPO about, among other things, the construction and sustainability of homes. A new Social Rental Agreement with Aedes and the Woonbond about, among other things, the annual maximum permitted rent increase will be part of these agreements.
Simplification of housing allowance
In recent years it has become clear that the allowance system creates uncertainty for some people. We are therefore strongly committed to simplifying the housing benefit.
Among other things, standardized rents are being introduced for this. The amount of the rent allowance is therefore no longer dependent on the actual rent, but is based on a fixed, standardized rent. Depending on their income, people pay a personal contribution, which is deducted from this standard rental amount. What remains is the rent allowance to be received.
The maximum rental limit will be deleted. In this way, more tenants can receive housing benefit. In addition, the age limit for young people will be lowered from 23 to 21 and the contribution to the eligible service costs will lapse.
The bill should be ready by the end of 2022 and should come into effect from 2024. The standardized rents will be introduced gradually over a period of five years.
Better protection for buyer and tenant
Buyers and tenants must be well protected. There will be a national standard for dealing with tenants in a good and responsible manner. Municipalities can focus on improved rent protection through area-specific rental permits, provided that the maximum rents are respected. As a next step, it should become the national standard that landlords in the regulated sector respect the maximum rent of the home valuation system. When buying a home, certification of the bidding process, and with it the use of a (bid) log by real estate agents, is required by law. This makes the buying process more transparent and there is less room for brokers not to act with integrity.