The Hague also plans to block investors from buying homes to rent them

Local politicians in The Hague are looking at how they can join Amsterdam and introduce real estate restrictions that would require home purchasers to live at the property for four years. Only then could they begin renting it out.

The measures are meant to ice the overheated housing market, and to give more opportunities to first-time buyers by effectively blocking real estate investors from competing with them. In Amsterdam, the purchase protection plan would take effect for homes with an official WOZ valuation of up to 512,000 euros. The measure is expected to pass a full vote of the Amsterdam City Council in February, and will apply citywide.

The Hague has not yet decided if it will put a cap on a similar proposal there, according to Omroep West. The proposal will soon be introduced to The Hague City Council, and could take effect early in 2022.

"In the Laakkwartier and Spoorwijk districts, more than forty percent [of available property] was bought up by investors at the end of last year," a spokesperson for the city of The Hague told the broadcaster. "We are noticing that the purchase of existing homes in order to turn around and rent them out has increased substantially in recent years, and it has many negative consequences."

A new national law in the Netherlands will take effect at the start of the new year which allows municipalities to designate certain areas under purchase protection plans. Exceptions allow for homes which have already been rented out before January 1, and for those renting out to family. Individuals who leave the Netherlands for an extended period of time will also be able to rent out their homes to a tenant.

Similar proposals are being considered in larger cities, like Utrecht and Tilburg, according to NOS. Smaller cities, including Hengelo and Meppel, are considering restrictions that only affect newly-built homes on the market for the first time, as is currently the case in Amsterdam.