By setting the limit at 512,000 euros, 60 percent of owner-occupied homes in Amsterdam are protected against purchase. That limit is relatively high, but that is because the owner-occupied houses in the city are expensive. “The price of an owner-occupied home has more than doubled in the past seven years, to an average of six tons. With the purchase protection for existing owner-occupied homes, first-time buyers and middle income earners have a greater chance of buying a home, because they are no longer trumped by investors who buy homes and then rent them out at sky-high prices. Homes are for living in and not for making money,” says housing alderman Jakob Wedemeijer.
The city council must officially approve the measure in less than two weeks. But a spokeswoman for Wedemeijer does not expect any obstacles there.
It emerged on Wednesday that the private rental sector in Amsterdam is now larger than the stock of owner-occupied homes. This is probably due to so-called buy-to-let homes that are bought for rent, and keep-to-let home owners who move to live elsewhere and not sell their homes, but rent them out. In two years, 10,000 homes have shifted from the owner-occupied market to the expensive private rental segment.
Amsterdam is not the only municipality where purchase protection is or will be in force. In Rotterdam, such a scheme applies in sixteen neighborhoods for houses with a WOZ value of up to 355,000 euros. Dozens of other municipalities also have a self-occupancy obligation or are working on such an arrangement.
There are a few exceptions to the self-occupancy obligation. For example, a house may be rented out to immediate family members (parents, children, brothers, sisters) or rented out temporarily, for example during a stay abroad. Houses that are an integral part of a commercial space, office or shop may also be rented out.