Combine energy label with energy consumption
The energy label of a house certainly does not say everything about its energy consumption. The Woonbond argues that the order of making rental homes more sustainable should not only look at the energy label, but also at energy consumption.
On 13 February 2023, TV programme Radar featured a number of examples of rental properties where the energy label calculated according to the old method differed significantly from the energy label according to the new method. The residents’ doubts came mainly because their energy consumption is higher than you would expect from the energy label, and because residents themselves can see the lack of insulation, such as single-glazed windows and wooden floors without insulation. Read the full article in Dutch here…
Youths to Lower House: ‘Abolish temporary leases’
Temporary contracts create a lot of uncertainty, high rents and abuse of power by landlords. Young tenants therefore want these ‘revolving door constructions’ to be abolished as soon as possible. Yesterday, they offered a fire letter in the Lower House.
Since 2016, landlords have been able to use ‘regular’ temporary leases, thanks to the Wet doorstroming huurmarkt. While ‘permanent’ was supposed to remain the norm, in practice it is increasingly shifting to temporary.
Of tenants who moved out in the past two years, 1 in 5 already has a temporary contract. In the private sector, it is even 1 in 3. For Amsterdam, already half of the rental contracts concluded in 2021 are temporary. Read the full article in Dutch here…
Parlement majority in sight for law tackling abusive landlords
A majority in the parliament is positive about the good Landlord Act, it emerged on Wednesday during its debate. This law sets basic national rules for good landlordism.
That this new law seems to be able to count on a parliamentary majority is good news for tenants and a nice sealing of the commitment of the Woonbond. The Woonbond came up with the proposal five years ago to allow municipalities to better deal with faulty landlords. Minister de Jonge also referred in the parliamentary debate to the reports from our commercial rental hotline as one of the many proofs that this law is badly needed. Read the full article in Dutch here…
D66 and DENK: Force landlords to tackle housing discrimination
Housing landlords and intermediaries should be required to draw up a plan to prevent discrimination in the housing market. If they fail to do so, the municipality where they operate can impose a fine or revoke their licence.
Discrimination on the housing market is a major problem in the Netherlands, according to research by the Verwey-Jonker Institute. In particular, people with a Moroccan-sounding name are much less likely to get rental housing in the free sector as a result. Read the full article in Dutch here…