News item | 2023-03-20 | 5:45 pm
To promote the flow and increase the number of rental properties, the 2015 Rental Market Transfer Act made it possible to conclude temporary rental contracts.
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This law was evaluated in July 2021. This shows that due to the faster flow of tenants, the quality of life in some neighborhoods has deteriorated. With the local ban on temporary rental bill that went into consultation today, municipalities are given the opportunity to prohibit temporary rental in neighborhoods where the quality of life is under pressure.
Temporary contracts
On 1 July 2016, the Rental Market Transfer Act 2015 entered into force. One of the changes was the introduction of temporary rental contracts for a maximum of two years for self-contained homes and a maximum of five years for non-self-contained homes. Self-contained houses are houses with their own entrance, kitchen and toilet. Offering temporary rental contracts would lead to a better flow and more supply. The starting point was that permanent leases would remain the norm.
Bottlenecks from evaluation
In July 2021, the law was evaluated and the House was informed. This showed that the use of temporary rental contracts, especially by private landlords in the major cities, has increased sharply in recent years. Whether the supply of rental properties has also increased due to the introduction of the law was not immediately apparent from the evaluation. Large municipalities in particular signaled that since the introduction of the temporary rental contracts, there has been more flow in certain districts. An undesired effect of this, however, is also less ties with the neighbourhood, which worsens the quality of life in some neighbourhoods.
Temporary Rental Local Prohibition Act
To counteract undesirable effects, the government wants to give municipalities the option of prohibiting local temporary letting in vulnerable neighborhoods where the quality of life is under pressure. Municipalities make a local assessment of whether intervention is necessary. The option for temporary rental contracts is therefore not lost. In some situations, a temporary rental contract offers the right solution, such as an interim solution after a divorce or when someone wants to have a home available again in the long term.
Bill Affordable Rent
Rent increases as a result of temporary contracts are also restricted by the Affordable Rent bill, which regulates the rent for temporary leases as well. This bill is currently also being consulted. The negative incentive to use temporary rental contracts for a rent increase in a new contract is also mitigated if the rental property falls under the points system of the housing valuation system (WWS). As a result, permanent rental contracts will remain the norm, which will benefit tenants’ housing security. Therefore, a national ban on this form of temporary rental is not necessary.