News item | 13-07-2023 | 11:34
Minister De Jonge proposes to apply a maximum for another three years for the annual rent increase in the private sector. The intention for the extension is that the maximum permitted rent increase will be equal to the average collective labor agreement wage development plus 1%, and that this will apply from 1 May 2024 to 1 May 2027. The draft bill will enter into consultation after the summer.
Necessity maximum remains
Since May 2021, the annual rent increase in the private sector has been capped by law. This has been laid down in an initiative law of PvdA Member of Parliament Henk Nijboer. Before May 2021, there was no limit to annual increases in the free sector. Because this limit was missing and because of the scarcity on the housing market, people were sometimes confronted with large rent increases. The evaluation of the initiative law shows that the need to maximize the permitted annual rent increase is still present. That is why Minister De Jonge is preparing a bill to extend the maximum. Part of the proposal is to re-evaluate the need for the cap after (for example) two years.
More certainty
Rental contracts in the free sector are not protected against excessive rent increases without renewal after 1 May 2024. With the cap, the minister wants to give tenants in the private sector more certainty about their housing costs and the affordability of their home for longer. The extension of the protection against excessive rent increases has only a limited effect on the return of landlords.