Voters very concerned about housing construction as elections draw near

Housing construction is an important theme in many municipalities with the city council elections approaching. Of the ten statements voters pick most frequently on voting aid MijnStem by research agency Citisens, three are about building homes.

MijnStem has voting aids for 257 municipalities, with over 2,800 unique statements voters pick to gain insight into which political party suits them best. Citisens based these statements on the programs of all parties participating in the elections and a survey on election themes among 5,600 Netherlands residents. Some municipalities also surveyed their residents on what they consider to be essential election themes.

Three of the ten most common statements concern building more homes, for example, whether there should be more social rentals or private sector housing, more housing for people starting on the housing market or families, or whether new housing should be located inside or outside the built-up area. Another common statement concerns whether the tax on homeownership should be reduced.

Other statements that came up most often include neighborhood watches, the culture budget, maintenance of green spaces, sustainability, waste levies, and investing in bicycle paths or parking. 

In addition to the MijnStem voting aids, StemWijzer and KiesKompas also have voting aids for dozens of municipalities.