Bill on Strengthening Public Housing Management to the House of Representatives | News item

News item | 07-03-2024 | 15:21

Hugo de Jonge, Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations: “This law ensures the legal anchoring of everything we have initiated in the field of public housing during this cabinet period. This gives governments the legal instruments to build more affordable homes with more control – and more speed. The housing shortage is high. With this law we make it explicit that the constitutional task to ensure sufficient housing is a task of all governments together. For too long it has been thought that control over this is not necessary and that the market would automatically balance supply and demand. But we have seen that all local decisions do not add up to what is needed. This law puts the government back in control of housing construction. In this way we restore our beautiful public housing tradition.”

Control over how much, where and for whom we build

There are currently too few homes and insufficient locations to build. Demand is high: almost a million new homes are needed by 2030. Two-thirds of this must consist of affordable owner-occupied and rental properties.

To make this happen, the government, provinces and municipalities will soon make a mandatory public housing program. This specifies how much, where and for which specific target groups – such as the elderly and students – they will build. Provinces must also, together with municipalities, ensure sufficient construction sites for homes. In this way we translate the national goals to the local level.

The constitutional concern for sufficient housing is also anchored in the Environmental Act. Governments can also use all the instruments of this law to ensure sufficient suitable housing. This gives the government and provinces, among other things, the opportunity to legally control how much, for whom and where construction should take place through instructional rules and decisions. For example, to make a decision about new construction locations. If local authorities cannot reach an agreement among themselves, the minister can, as a last resort, designate locations.

The efforts of housing associations are also desperately needed. By 2030, they must build 250,000 social rental homes and 50,000 mid-range rental homes. Through local performance agreements, they determine with municipalities where and when these homes will be built. If this goes wrong, the minister can, on the advice of a national advisory committee, make a binding decision that will allow everyone to move forward.

Sufficient affordable housing

Too few affordable homes have been built in recent years. People with normal jobs, such as police officers, nurses and teachers, often no longer enter the housing market. That is why two-thirds of all new construction must consist of affordable housing. Both purchase and rental. For middle and lower incomes.

We ensure a good regional distribution between municipalities. Municipalities that have a small social housing stock and are below the national average will be required to build more socially. They must include 30% social housing in their new construction programme. Municipalities that already have a large social housing stock and are above the national average focus more on building for middle incomes. They fulfill their new construction task with more than 40% affordable owner-occupied and mid-priced rental homes. This creates a good balance in the region and in a municipality.

Shorter procedures

Many housing projects are delayed due to lengthy appeal procedures. That is why we are accelerating the process of going to court for designated categories of housing projects. For example, the administrative judge will make a decision within six months, the appeal will be processed expeditiously and the reasons for the appeal must be submitted within the appeal period. In addition, when licensing is granted, there will be one court appearance instead of two. This makes it clear much faster whether a plan can go ahead. The time savings can be up to a year.

Smaller housing construction sites on the edges of cities and villages can also help to reduce the housing shortage. Moreover, villages remain liveable in this way. That is why the substantiation of projects of up to 50 homes becomes less complicated. The Ladder for sustainable urbanization no longer applies to these projects.

The demand for informal care homes will only increase in the coming years. That is why it is arranged that informal care homes on one’s own property become permit-free.

Fair share

For certain groups of people urgently looking for housing, such as young people who have left youth care, or people who have come from sheltered housing or social care, it is extra important that they find a home quickly. This is better for them, but also for society, because it saves costs in healthcare, for example.

At the moment, these groups often only have priority in the large municipalities. Smaller municipalities often do not have an emergency scheme and therefore house fewer households from these groups. This means that regular home seekers in large municipalities do not have sufficient opportunity to find a home. This sometimes puts pressure on the quality of life in neighborhoods.

That is why all municipalities must have an emergency scheme and groups of urgent home seekers are designated nationally. All municipalities in the region must also contribute to the housing of these groups in the region and make mutual agreements about this. In this way, urgent home seekers have a better chance of finding a suitable home and regular home seekers also have a good chance of finding a home.

Underlying regulations in consultation

Today, the consultation on the underlying regulations for the Reinforcement of Public Housing Management Act has also started. The consultation lasts eight weeks.