News item | 10-06-2022 | 17:44
The ambition to grow to 15,000 flexible homes and 15,000 homes annually through transformation is being accelerated. For example, there will be a ‘Taskforce accelerating temporary housing’ that, in combination with € 100 million in resources, will provide more clout. The task force identifies projects to be completed quickly and helps local authorities, housing associations and other parties to quickly tackle obstacles. This is what Minister De Jonge (Public Housing and Spatial Planning) wrote today in a letter that he sent to the House of Representatives together with the National Transformation Plan.
Part of the growth to 100,000 homes per year is the realization of 15,000 flexible homes and 15,000 homes through transformation.
Minister De Jonge: “Building flexible homes is the fastest way to add new rental properties. The waiting lists are long and we must avoid crowding as much as possible. Whether it concerns emergency seekers, Ukrainians or status holders: we want to be able to help everyone who is entitled to a house.”
Vital cities and villages
Transforming existing buildings is possible for both temporary and permanent use. The transformation of vacant buildings further contributes to the vitality of our cities and villages and to the objectives in the field of sustainability and circularity.
Flex-homes are high-quality buildings that are reusable as much as possible: a flex-home that is no longer needed at any time can easily be moved to another location. These homes, which can be built relatively quickly, thus form a flexible shell that helps to absorb sudden peaks and troughs in supply and demand.
Suitable locations
The ‘Taskforce acceleration of temporary housing’ is led by Rob Haans, Nicole Maarsen and Harriët Tiemens. The taskforce has a separate implementing organization that provides practical support to municipalities, provinces, housing associations and construction companies in bringing supply and demand together and in identifying promising locations or buildings. The implementation organization of the task force consists of external experts. They work together with the Central Government Real Estate Agency, the Housing Expert Team of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), the VNG and Aedes. The task force has a budget of €12 million for the work until the end of next year.
Financial support
Minister De Jonge is assisting with € 100 million in financial support to give promising projects a major boost and prevent delays. The Transformation Facility will be supplemented by €22 million to €80 million, allowing more projects to qualify for a loan.
The minister will make performance agreements with the regions and municipalities about the share of transformation and flexible housing in the housing task.