Selling social housing is changing Amsterdam. ‘All the poor are being pushed out of the city’
The number of social rented homes in Amsterdam is rapidly declining. Sold social housing soon reappears on the market at a considerably higher price. The sale of social housing in large cities, especially Amsterdam, has been a sensitive issue for years. There is a huge shortage of social housing for rent. To solve that, minister Hugo de Jonge (Housing, CDA) announced last year that by 2030, at least 30 per cent of homes in every municipality should be for social renting.
Selling social housing then seems counterproductive. But corporations say they need the proceeds to build new rental housing elsewhere. Every house sold generates two new ones, they argue. Incidentally, corporations always neatly indicate when a social rented house goes on sale that tenants get priority. But these can rarely afford the price; they rely on the social sector for a reason. Read full article in Dutch…
Stricter rules for rentals result in fewer rental properties
The stricter rules for letting properties in the free sector are causing a greater shortage of rental properties, say property owners in the Hague region. ‘The effect of these measures is that renting no longer pays off,’ says real estate agent Niek Verra. ‘More and more houses are no longer rented out, but put up for sale.’
Minister de Jonge is working on a bill to give tenants better protection. They can protest more easily if they think their rent is too high and for many houses in the free sector there will be a maximum rent. ‘In addition, the tax in box 3 has been increased,’ says Niek Verra. ‘Together with the high interest rates, the costs become so high that renting is no longer attractive for homeowners.’ Read full article in Dutch…
Housing market in further trouble with fall of cabinet: Standing still is going backwards
With the fall of the Rutte IV government, major issues are coming to a pause, to the annoyance of many organisations. The housing market also risks bearing the brunt of the political turmoil. More new construction, affordable rent? The longer it takes, the more things get bogged down, connoisseurs fear.
According to the interest clubs, it could be a year and a half before a new cabinet is in place, which means that a lot of new legislation is stalled. Only important ongoing issues are continued, other so-called controversial proposals are put on hold by parliament. Exactly which ones these are remains to be seen. Read full article in Dutch…