Limitation of house rents by the Dutch government

According to the BBC news; The Dutch government will legally protect middle-income groups who find it difficult to find housing due to high prices.

Hugo de Jonge, Minister of Mass Housing and Territorial Planning, has drawn up a bill that limits private residences to a maximum of 1,123 euros for residences with characteristics so that the middle class can live.

Under the new bill, a scoring system will be introduced for rental housing on the free market, as well as for social housing.

Points will be awarded for all of the building’s characteristics, such as its age, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and size.

A price limit will be applied to homes of up to 187 points and will be arranged according to the needs of a middle-class family.

As of the entry into force of the legal regulations, the owners of homes with these characteristics may not demand more than 1,123 euros in rent. There will be no such restriction for luxury residences above 187 points.

The regulation will be valid for new lease contracts as long as the problem in the housing market continues. The government will reconsider the regulation after 5 years.

With the new regulation, the increase in rent will not exceed 0.5 percent of the rate of salary increase determined by the average collective agreement. For example, if a tenant’s salary has increased by 5 percent, her rent will increase by a maximum of 5.5 percent.

The rate of increase in income in the Netherlands has long been indexed to inflation. However, due to the coronavirus epidemic and the war in Ukraine, this system was abandoned after inflation hovered around 10 percent last year and was higher than the salary increase.

SUPERVISION AND FINE

Municipalities will monitor whether landlords comply with the rent limitation regulation. Despite the regulation, landlords who insist on exorbitant rents will be subject to heavy fines.

The Dutch government had limited rental prices for social housing owned by semi-official cooperatives to 800 euros.

Within the framework of the measures taken by the government, 90 percent of rental houses in the Netherlands will be subject to price cap rules in the next period.

Minister Hugo de Jonge said: “Many tenants pay high prices for a house that is not really worth it. Tenants often have no choice. “More and more homes are becoming inaccessible to middle-income people,” he said.