News item | 16-02-2023 | 16:38
The legislative proposal to strengthen the management of public housing provides the national government, provinces and municipalities with the legal instruments to jointly manage public housing. The public internet consultation on this bill will start today. The law gives governments more control over how many homes are being built, where and for whom, and more control over options for accelerating housing construction.
Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning Hugo de Jonge: “For too long it has been thought that the sum of local decisions would automatically provide a solution to the housing shortage. But that is not the case. That is why we must restore public housing and take back control. With this law, we ensure that governments have the right tools to manage how much, where and for whom we build.”
Control over the number of homes and locations
At the moment there are too few affordable homes and there are not enough locations to build. The cabinet aims to build 900,000 homes up to and including 2030, two thirds of which are affordable. In order to be able to manage this, there will be an obligation for the national government, province and municipalities to draw up a public housing programme. This gives substance to the (regional) building task, including locations. In this way, the governments work together as one government on the public housing task. The law gives both the national government and the provinces the opportunity to provide legal guidance via instructions, for example to make a decision about a new construction site. If governments cannot come to an agreement together, the government can, in extreme cases, enforce housing locations.
Manage affordability
To bring more balance to the housing stock and to ensure a fairer distribution between municipalities, the aim is for two-thirds of new construction to consist of affordable homes. Both purchase and rental, for middle and lower incomes. Municipalities with little social rent in stock have to pull a leg by building more social rent. Conversely, municipalities with a lot of social rent in the housing stock need to build less socially, they will focus more on the middle segment. This ensures a better distribution of the housing stock.
Speed up procedures
If a court ruling is required in the housing construction process, it is important that clarity is obtained quickly. After all, local residents, future residents, construction parties and municipalities all benefit from an expeditious ruling by the administrative court. The government therefore designates categories of construction projects that are subject to accelerated court proceedings. In order to use this acceleration, there will be one court procedure for those projects instead of two, the administrative court will rule within six months, the appeal will be handled quickly and the reasons for the appeal must be submitted within the appeal period.
Control proportional distribution
It is extra difficult for some groups to find a home, such as people who leave the mental health care, social shelter and sheltered housing. This bill creates more options for people who urgently need a home. Municipalities are obliged to establish an emergency regulation in their housing regulations, whereby they are obliged to include a number of nationally applicable categories of ‘urgent home seekers’. The housing task of these groups is also distributed more evenly in the region by law, where central municipalities in particular currently fill in the largest task.
Strengthen local performance agreements
In order to achieve the public housing goals, the efforts of housing associations are also very important. This bill provides that the municipal public housing programs will be reflected in the local performance agreements between municipalities, tenants’ organizations and housing corporations. If a dispute arises when making and/or implementing these local performance agreements, all parties can submit this dispute to the Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning. The minister then makes a binding decision based on the advice of an independent advisory committee. This allows the parties to continue working together on the task they face locally.
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