Netherlands reveals plans for 150,000 more social housing units

Minister Kasja Ollongren of Home Affairs, the association of Dutch municipalities VNG, and the association for housing corporations Aedes agreed to work together to accelerate the construction of 150 thousand social rental homes. Within two years, at least 25 thousand such homes will be built per year, the Minister announced on Tuesday.

The parties also agreed to build 10 thousand flexible homes in the next two years, and to stimulate the construction of mid-market rentals and cheap owner-occupied homes. Housing corporations will fund these plans through discount on the landlord levy. To make sure that the tax cuts actually lead to the construction of new homes as quickly as possible, Aedes, VNG and th Ministry will set up a joint task force to monitor the situation.

According to Ollongren, the Netherlands has a massive construction task head of it. "It is fantastic that new agreements have now been made so that the construction of very many new houses with a low rent can start within two years. In this way we ensure that more affordable housing is available for people with lower income and vulnerable groups such as the homeless," she said.

Aedes hopes that this accelerated construction of affordable homes will put a dent in the housing shortage, chairman Martin van Rijn said. "Far too many people are still waiting for an affordable rental home. Housing corporations are eager to build for them. It is good to look at and solve the bottlenecks in the planning and preparation together."

Van Rijn added that housing corporations also play a big role in renovating and restructuring the existing housing stock, the energy transition, the housing of vulnerable groups, and the quality of life in the neighborhoods. Housing corporations will need more financial support to cover all its public housing tasks in the coming years.

The Ministry, VNG and Aedes are discussing this issue and Ollongren will present solutions in the autumn.