Rents for social tenants of private rental properties increased by an average of 3.7 percent in July 2023 compared to a year earlier. Social rental properties at housing associations rose in price by an average of only 0.1 percent over the same period. This is evident from results published on Friday Numbers from the Central Bureau of Statistics. In the private sector, rents rose by an average of 4.5 percent.
The major differences are due to a rent reduction law that the Senate adopted last February. This law gave social tenants at a housing association with a rent above 575 euros and a low income a rent reduction. More than 500,000 people have a rental home with a housing association and still have to pay a maximum of 575 euros per month. About 70 percent of all rental properties are owned by housing associations. The law does not apply to social tenants of private rental properties, nor to tenants in the private sector.
The increase in the average rental price of social rental properties owned by housing associations was still 2.6 percent in 2022, compared to 2021. Social tenants of private rental properties then saw their rents increase by an average of 2.8 percent.
It is also striking that the average increase in rents in the private sector, 4.5 percent, is higher than the maximum permitted increase of 4.1 percent. This is due to changes in residents. If a rental property receives a new resident(s), different rules apply and the rent is usually increased more. On average, rents increased by 10.9 percent when residents changed. Since 2014, rents have not risen as fast when residents change as in 2023.