News item | 13-07-2023 | 11:45
Important steps have been taken to make housing affordable again for more people. This is what Minister Hugo de Jonge writes in his progress report on the Affordable Housing program launched last year. For example, 600,000 tenants with low incomes received a rent reduction from their housing corporation to 575 euros per month on 1 July. More first-time buyers also succeeded in finding affordable owner-occupied homes and the new Good Landlords Act ensured better protection for tenants. During the outgoing period, efforts will continue to make housing more affordable for lower and middle incomes.
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Minister Hugo de Jonge: “We must consistently take the side of home seekers. Too many people with an ordinary salary can no longer rent or buy affordable housing. My commitment remains to improve access to affordable housing and to make housing costs more affordable again for tenants with a middle or lower income.”
Lower rental costs
A large group of tenants saw their rent fall as of 1 July or rise less than expected. Housing associations were allowed to increase most rents by a maximum of 2.6%, but the average rent increase was even slightly lower; 2.4%. This is considerably lower than the inflation development of 9.7% in the same period. In addition, three-quarters of the corporations have frozen the rents of homes with the most unfavorable energy labels. The permitted annual rent increases for the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 will be linked to the collective labor agreement wage development, instead of inflation. As a result, rents in the social sector will on average not rise faster than the average income development of tenants.
Middle incomes must also be able to find affordable rental housing. The affordable rent bill was recently sent to the Council of State for this purpose. Rents have risen too fast in recent years, partly because properties in the major cities have been bought up and rented out at high prices. With the proposed regulation of the mid-market rent, there will be a better balance in the rental and owner-occupied market and tenants of mid-market rental homes will pay a rent that matches the quality of the home.
With the rent allowance, the government helps people with a low income to better bear their housing costs. With the legislative proposal to simplify rent allowance, the minister wants to make rent allowance more accessible, understandable and easier to implement. The bill is awaiting consideration by the House of Representatives.
More affordable housing
The supply of affordable housing should continue to rise sharply in the coming years. According to the most recent forecast, 981,000 homes must be added up to and including 2030. The provinces and central government recently agreed in the housing deals in which regions will be heavily expanded. Two-thirds of this is affordable rent, owner-occupied and social rent. To encourage affordable new construction, Minister De Jonge previously came up with a package of measures to continue building during the expected dip.
The introduction of purchase protection improved the chance for first-time buyers to purchase an affordable owner-occupied home. Some 20 municipalities have already introduced these to ensure that affordable owner-occupied homes no longer disappear into the expensive rental segment. The minister also presented a guide on instruments for affordable purchase. Municipalities use these to realize affordable owner-occupied homes for first-time buyers in the region. In order to further improve access to affordable owner-occupied homes, the minister will publish an elaboration of the National Fund for affordable owner-occupied homes after the summer. The fund contains 40 million euros to realize a new form of premium A homes that were successful at the time. Households that are currently financially unable to acquire a home will soon be able to buy a home through this scheme with financial help from the government, developers and municipalities.
The proposal to revise the Housing Act will give municipalities more options to give priority to home seekers with a certain profession, or ties to the municipality, when purchasing a new-build home. In this proposal, municipalities may also allocate rental homes to these target groups more often. The bill is awaiting consideration in the Senate.
Better protection of tenants laid down in law
The Good Landlords Act has been in force since 1 July. This law gives municipalities more options to combat undesirable rental behaviour, such as housing discrimination, intimidation, unreasonable service costs and too high a deposit. Municipalities can set up a rental permit for a specific area. This means that requirements can be imposed on landlords. Think of maximum rents and timely maintenance of the living space. Rules have also been included in the law to improve the housing of migrant workers. Furthermore, the minister recently announced that he wants to tighten up existing rules for service costs in order to prevent misuse of service costs.
Measures have also been taken in the owner-occupied sector to ensure better protection for buyers. For example, the mandatory bidding log for members of trade associations since January 2023 promotes an open and more transparent purchasing process and cross-sector disciplinary law has now been set up.