Outgoing Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Housing, CDA) will allow legislation on quality assurance for construction to come into effect later than January 1, 2024, and therefore no longer at the same time as the Environment Act. He wrote this in a letter to the Senate on Monday. De Jonge got into trouble with the Senate at the beginning of this summer, when he ignored a motion on quality assurance legislation.
The Construction Quality Assurance Act (Wkb) stipulates that it is not the client, but the builder, who will soon have to prove that all quality requirements have been met. Construction and housing supervision is transferred from municipalities to private parties. Quality assurance, which are market parties, will supervise during construction. This should simplify the tasks of municipalities and improve compliance with quality requirements in construction. De Jonge wanted the Wkb to come into effect at the same time as the Environmental Act, which combines all kinds of legislation regarding spatial planning. Quality assurance is about ensuring that the rules of the Building Decree (including safety, materials, dimensions) are followed.
There is dissatisfaction in the construction sector about the Wkb. It is feared that too few expert quality assurance officers will be available on January 1, when the Environmental Act comes into effect. According to the Bouwend Nederland trade association, this could cause further delays in housing construction and possible price increases for private individuals. The employers argue that the law will only apply to new construction and not to renovations of existing buildings – the lion’s share of construction activity. For example, small construction companies that mainly carry out renovations would have a ‘softer landing’ under the new rules.
Also read: Construction Act brings Senate into conflict with Hugo de Jonge
Only for new construction
Although the law had already passed both Houses, unrest arose in the Senate as the effective date approached. In July, during an interpellation debate on the Environmental Act, this led to a politically remarkable collaboration between the senate factions GroenLinks-PvdA and BBB. The two largest parties shared the concerns of the construction sector and jointly submitted a motion ordering De Jonge to suspend the introduction of the Wkb.
Initially, De Jonge stated that the Wkb and the Environmental Act were “too intertwined” to allow them to enter into force separately, and ignored the motion – much to the annoyance of the Senate.
The postponement allows more time to gain experience with quality assurance and to certify new companies
But now De Jonge is backtracking on his refusal. The outgoing minister said in a letter to the Senate on Monday that he had heard the Senate’s concerns. The solution is a ‘cut’ between new construction and renovation, which appears to be legally possible. For new construction, the effective date of the Wkb remains January 1. But anyone who wants to renovate an existing building can still submit a permit application to the municipality until July 1, 2024 – as is currently customary. They must then engage a quality assurance officer to assess the plans.
The postponement makes the ‘soft landing’ possible that Bouwend Nederland envisions. According to De Jonge, there is also more time to gain experience with quality assurance and to certify new companies. The trade association calls the postponement “positive” and writes that it has “slightly more confidence” that there will be enough expert quality assurance.
Remarkable collaboration
De Jonge’s kneejerk is a political boost for the Senate factions of BBB and GroenLinks-PvdA. Although they are far apart on positions such as nitrogen and climate, the two parties show that they can indeed cooperate in other areas. In the House of Representatives, the opposition parties also found each other in the field of poverty reduction.
This spring, BBB became the largest by force majeure in the Provincial Council elections, with the combined list of GroenLinks-PvdA becoming the second faction. This made the parties a significant political factor: the cabinet is highly dependent on them to get bills through the Senate.
However, the issue of the Wkb should not be seen as an example of political power play, says Senate Member Ferd Crone (GroenLinks-PvdA) in a response to De Jonge’s decision. “We show that we as the Senate are not involved in politics, but only test the feasibility of laws. If a law is unenforceable, it should be stopped. It is good to see that the minister is now coming back on this.”