The housing shortage is high and municipalities would like to acquire more houses quickly. In addition to new construction and expansion (housing within a village or centre), the cadastral division of existing homes is also being discussed. An option that can be especially beneficial for rural municipalities. But it is still rarely used, according to research by RTV Drenthe.
In most municipalities in Drenthe, the number of house divisions is no more than a handful per year. Initiators often drop out before applying for a permit, including in the municipalities of Aa and Hunze. “We notice that we would like to cooperate in the preliminary phase, but that in many cases an idea is not taken further by the initiator,” the municipality writes.
Moreover, a significant portion of the number of initiatives are not approved, according to figures from the municipality of Tynaarlo, among others: “Since 2021, we have had 20 preliminary consultations and applications for a permit, of which 8 have been answered positively. Of the 20 preliminary consultations and applications, 5 were withdrawn or left out of consideration due to a lack of sufficient data,” Tynaarlo said.
RTV Drenthe spoke to several Drenthe initiators who are thinking or have thought about house division and they indeed call the process ‘complicated’. To be allowed to divide a house, you must meet many requirements, which are not always possible.
This is also the picture nationally, as a broadcast of Radar in February and from a survey by Platform31 in November. Splitting often costs initiators tens of thousands of euros before they get there. This is partly due to the rules and procedures that initiators have to deal with. Few municipalities also encourage the options.