The figures are in the annual State of Public Housing, which Keijzer sent to the House of Representatives on Monday. “Due to better economic conditions, housing construction will pick up again in the coming years. The goal of 100,000 new homes per year is now within sight,” it sounds optimistic, despite the nitrogen problem and the lack of interest among investors to invest in rental properties.
‘Absolute will’
“Unfortunately, we are not yet building the number of homes that are needed and the housing shortage remains great. Yet the prospects are better,” says Keijzer. “For example, we have designated new areas for large-scale housing construction, we are removing rules and procedures to build faster and we are creating new homes by making better use of existing construction.”
Keijzer also draws hope from the ‘absolute will’ she sees among all parties involved – central government, governments, corporations, market – to get out of the housing shortage. “And that is necessary. Because only together can we build the future of all Dutch people who are waiting for a house.”
Foreign money tap for Dutch homes almost closed: ‘Rent laws and transfer tax are the biggest obstacles’
The lack of interest among investors is evident from, among other things, the almost complete drying up of foreign investments in Dutch rental properties due to new rental laws and higher taxes. Projects also often fail due to the requirement that two-thirds of the homes must be affordable, developers indicate. The remaining homes must ‘subsidize’ the unprofitable affordable part and that is often not possible.
The Netherlands went from 400,000 to 8 million homes in two centuries: the number of residents per house fell sharply
Provinces have made plans for 930,400 homes for the period from 2025 to 2030, according to the report presented on Monday. According to the ministry, there are sufficient national construction plans to build 100,000 new homes per year.
Make better use of it
In addition to new construction, the intention is that 16 percent of the housing construction task will be achieved through better use of existing buildings. This must be done, for example, through transformations, topping up and splitting up homes. “The potential of this is great,” according to the authors of the report.
This while last month figures from Statistics Netherlands showed that the transformation is stalling. This year, the conversion of empty offices and retail properties will only produce 6,000 homes, half of what was delivered six years ago. According to the real estate sector, there are not many suitable properties left.
Conversion of offices into homes drops sharply: ‘There are no suitable buildings in inner cities’
According to the State of Public Housing, fewer tenants are faced with rents that are too high compared to their income. This percentage has fallen from 8 to 5.6 percent, the report said. This is thanks to rent reductions and higher wages. Tenants of a housing association spend 30 percent of their income on rent and additional housing costs, for tenants in the private sector this is almost 48 percent.
The share of natural gas-free homes has increased to 11 percent. The share of homes with poor energy labels E, F and G has decreased to 15 percent.