News item | 11-12-2024 | 2:45 PM
The government, governments, corporations and market parties made concrete agreements at the Housing Summit on how to accelerate the realization of new homes to 100,000 homes per year. Two-thirds of all new homes must be affordable. And the pace of construction is increasing considerably. Breakthroughs have been achieved in Utrecht, Lissebroek and Nieuw-Vennep West and Lansingerland, in total for almost 75,000 additional homes. In the areas within the National Liveability and Safety Program, an additional 10,000 homes will be built between 2025 and 2029 – on top of existing agreements. In addition, 40,000 homes in these areas will be completed more quickly. In order to realize homes more quickly, obstructive rules and procedures are being scrapped. The parties have also agreed that there will be uniform requirements for new construction that are in line with EU regulations.
The agreements at the Housing Summit are the starting point for more intensive cooperation. The Woontop is certainly not the final destination. In the near future, the signatories will continue to monitor progress and, if necessary, make additional agreements to close the housing shortage – faster, smarter and with fewer rules. The Housing Top Agreements have been signed by IPO, VNG, Union of Water Boards, Aedes, NEPROM, IVBN, Bouwend Nederland, NVM, Vereniging Eigen Huis, WoningbouwersNL, Vastgoed Belang, Stichting Professioneel Platform Vastgoed, VNO-NCW/MKB-Nederland, Techniek Nederland and the Rich. The Housing Association issues a statement of support.
Mona Keijzer, Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning: “This Housing Summit is undeniably a ‘big step’. A joint major step for all parties involved in realizing the major task of realizing 100,000 homes annually. Homes that will lead to a future step over the threshold of owning a home for the many home seekers in our country. The housing shortage remains as great as ever. The Netherlands has a shortage of more than 400,000 homes. Today we – the government, local authorities, corporations and market parties – have clearly made progress towards realizing the construction task. We specifically determine where all new houses will be located. In consultation with the market, we have already agreed on almost 75,000 homes. We have determined that it is feasible to build two-thirds affordably. And we say goodbye to unnecessary rules. The same requirements for new construction will apply everywhere. In this way we promote innovation and industrialization. In the coming period, we will continue to work closely together and make decisions to resolve the housing crisis more quickly. The basic principle here: it is possible. Left or right: together we will ensure that construction takes place.”
New locations and two-thirds affordable
During the Housing Summit, almost 75,000 new homes were presented in three locations in the Netherlands: approximately 63,000 in Groot Merwede-Rijnenburg in Utrecht and Nieuwegein, at least 6,500 in Lissebroek and Nieuw-Vennep West and 5,000 in Bleizo in Lansingerland. We can achieve these numbers because concrete agreements have also been made with the market parties. This allows us to realize large numbers of homes faster and more efficiently. This attitude will help tackle the housing shortage. We will be making appointments at more locations in the near future.
Two-thirds of all new homes must be affordable for low-income and middle-income households. Research into the financial feasibility shows that it is possible to build these affordable homes. For the next five years, the available resources are largely sufficient to cover the most direct costs, provided that municipalities co-finance 50%. There are still uncertainties that can lead to additional costs at project level, for example around grid congestion, nitrogen, greenery in and around the city and the Water Framework Directive. Also
there are shortages surrounding the required above-plan infrastructure. This will require further elaboration, smart choices and monitoring in the coming period.
Fewer rules
We are growing towards structurally adding 30,000 new social rental homes every year. To be achieved by 2029 at the latest. The ambition is to achieve this as early as 2027. More is also being built for specific groups, including young people and the elderly. This means that a total of 288,000 new homes for the elderly will be built by 2030.
The STOER program – Delete Conflicting and Superfluous Regulations – means saying goodbye to unnecessary rules that only get in the way of the construction of more homes. In anticipation of this, it has been agreed to use uniform requirements for new construction. In addition, there will be no national heads on EU regulations. This makes construction cheaper and more efficient. Regulations are being adjusted, creating additional space for housing in the Schiphol region, without restricting the space for Schiphol. This is done in coordination with the region. In anticipation of this, efforts are being made to build housing in Uitgeest. Existing agreements for Rijsenhout and Kronenburg are also being accelerated.
Build faster and use better
Housing construction is often unnecessarily delayed. That is why we have detailed how we can make processes and procedures more efficient and improve cooperation between governments and the market. This way, the construction time can be significantly shortened. Parallel planning, which increases the development time from six to two years, will therefore become a standard condition for subsidies, including the Housing Development Incentive and the area budget. In housing projects, all parties will use the same data. This ensures fewer errors. This makes construction 30 to 50% faster. Moreover, it saves costs. Despite the agreements in the housing deals, permits are not issued quickly enough. That is why corporations and market parties will further develop the housing deal agreements, so that they can start building at the agreed locations. Municipalities commit to issuing sufficient permits.
Every little bit helps. Every home is one. That is why all parties are committed to making better use of existing buildings. This can be done, among other things, by converting offices into homes. Or by splitting and topping houses. The government, corporations and municipalities will work on this at a local level. There will also be a national approach. This is regulated by the Housing Management Reinforcement Act.
Get started right away
The parties will immediately start implementing the agreements. They continue to work on realizing homes for all target groups. And agreements are being made to accelerate the realization of 25,000 student rooms, build sufficient suitable and affordable owner-occupied homes and make the investment climate for mid-range rental properties more attractive. The progress of the Housing Agreements is discussed annually. They are adjusted if necessary. The current government has made 7.5 billion euros available to realize the Housing Agreements: 5 billion euros for housing construction and 2.5 billion euros for the opening up of new homes. This is in addition to the 12.5 billion that had already been made available by the government.