Left-wing MP’s want to temporarily ban home rent increases

Left-wing opposition parties GroenLinks, SP, and PvdA want the government to ban rent increases and evictions during the coronavirus crisis. According to the parties, the government is not doing enough to protect tenants through this crisis, RTL Nieuws reports.

On Wednesday the lower house of Dutch parliament is debating an emergency law proposed by Minister Stientje van Veldhoven of Environment and Housing which allows for temporary rental contracts to be extended. This is to prevent tenants from finding themselves in a tough spot if their contract expires. She also made agreements with housing corporations and other involved parties to be lenient on tenants who can't afford their rents at this time.

But according to parliamentarians Paul Smeulders (GroenLinks), Sandra Beckerman (SP),and Henk Nijboer (PvdA), these measures are not going far enough. They want the government to offer more extensive tenant protection by banning rent increases for the time being. All house evictions must be postponed, and no temporary contract should be canceled during the crisis - even if the owner of a property wants to the demolish it. The demolition can be postponed, they argue.