News item | 14-10-2022 | 17:00
The cabinet has sent the first outlines for the regulation of the mid-market rent to the House of Representatives. The regulation should improve the affordability of rents for middle incomes. It is also important that a significant number of new mid-rental homes are built. With this letter, Minister De Jonge for Housing and Spatial Planning provides clarity on a number of elements about what the regulation will look like for tenants and investors. For example, the limit of rent protection based on the home valuation system (WWS) will be 187 points. This means that from 2024, when a new lease is concluded, most rental properties will cost below €1000. An overall picture of the regulation will be published in November, so that the Mid-term Rent Regulation Act can be consulted at the beginning of 2023.
Minister De Jonge: ‘The current scarcity leads to a rapid increase in rents with all the excesses that this entails. We have to get rid of that. It is important to find a good balance in the design of the regulation. On the one hand, we must protect tenants against excessive rents. On the other hand, we must ensure that there remains a willingness to invest in new mid-rental homes. With this letter I want to clarify.’
Height of the border
The WWS determines the maximum rent based on the quality of a living space. A scoring system is used for this that evaluates various aspects of the living space, such as the surface area and the energy label of the house. The WWS is now being expanded from 141 points to approximately 187 points. This means that homes for which more than €1,000 is now being asked, while these have less than 187 points based on quality, must be adjusted downwards in rent with a new contract. Due to the regulation, the government expects that in the long term more than 90% of rental properties (social rent and mid-term rent) will be let under €1,000 under a new lease. This removes most of the excesses from the market.
Modernize home valuation system
In order to encourage the construction of medium-sized rental homes to continue, the cabinet wants to modernize the points system so that it is more in line with the quality of rental homes. In this way people will pay a fair price for the quality of the home. An overall price surcharge on the WWS, the adjustment of the cap to the WOZ value and the valuation of sustainability and, for example, the (common) outdoor space of the rental property are examined. A model is made to illustrate this as accurately as possible. The model will be delivered in October and should provide insight into the options for modernizing the WWS.
Ensuring sufficient mid-term rental homes
In addition to regulation, it is important that a significant number of new mid-rental homes are built and that it also remains attractive to invest in mid-rental homes. Up to and including 2030, 900,000 additional homes must be built. Approximately 40% (350,000) of this must end up in the affordable owner-occupied or mid-rental segment. 50,000 of these mid-rental homes are being built by corporations, the other 300,000 mid-range rental homes and affordable owner-occupied homes are being picked up by the market.