City housing costs rise sharply

Like last year, municipal housing costs such as waste tax will again increase sharply this year, according to a study of the 40 largest Dutch municipalities by the center for research of the economy of local governments COELO. This year housing costs for the average tenant will increase by 5 percent to 363 euros, and for the average homeowner by 4 percent to 734 euros, RTL Nieuws reports.

There are major differences in housing costs changes per municipality. The highest increases this year are in Apeldoorn, where homeowners will pay 17 percent more and tenants 29 percent more than last year. In Arnhem, costs are decreasing.

This year municipalities are charging nearly 6 percent more for the collection and processing of waste than last year. This mainly has to do with the central government significantly increasing waste tax in 2019. Many municipalities carried these costs themselves last year, but now charge it to households, according to the researchers.

Property tax is also increasing by over 4 percent for the second year in a row. But according to Corine Hoeben of COELO, the increase is lower than they expected. As municipalities are constantly incurring higher costs for care and welfare, COELO expected property tax to increase more to cover these costs.

Increasing property tax is an unpopular measure. Hoeben therefore thinks that municipalities are holding back a major increase in the hope that the government will release more money for care tasks. "But if that bag of money does not come, municipalities will have to raise the property tax quickly or implement budget cuts later," she said to RTL.