News item | 14-04-2025 | 16:00
The one -off rent reduction in 2023 only had a limited effect on tenants and provided less investment space for housing associations to build new homes. The rental income for housing associations fell by approximately € 397 million on an annual basis and the loan capacity decreased by € 8.3 billion. The 595,000 households whose rent of their corporation home in 2023 was reduced to € 575.03 per month, received an average of € 24 lower housing costs per month. The effect was filled in because the housing allowance also became lower. The figures are stated in the evaluation of the one -off rent reduction Act, which Minister Mona Keijzer of Housing and Spatial Planning sent to the Lower House today.
The aim of the one -off rent reduction law was to structurally reduce the housing costs of tenants with a low income (up to 120% of the minimum wage). The evaluation showed that the majority of the rent reduction does not end up with the tenant. The rent became € 56 per month lower. In practice, tenants had an average of € 24 per month, because they also received less € 32 per month because of the lower rent. The average rental ratio (the percentage of income that goes to rent) fell from 24.3% to 20.8% for households with an income of up to 120% of the minimum wage. The rent reduction also applied only for tenants at housing associations.
Despite the lower annual rental income, housing associations had enough room to fulfill the performance agreements made about new construction and sustainability. The abolition of the landlord tax from 2023 was part of the same performance agreements and made the one -off rent reduction financially possible.
The effect of the rent reduction on the flow of tenants cannot be determined from the evaluation. This is only possible in the longer term. A lower rent could mean that tenants are less likely to move to a better fitting and affordable home.