Two political parties want to outlaw temporary rent contracts

Opposition party PvdA and coalition partner ChristenUnie are working on a bill to end temporary rent contracts. According to them, the temporary lease scheme is too often abused. “A permanent lease should become the norm again,” said PvdA MP Henk Nijboer.

Landlords have been allowed to offer temporary rental contracts since 2015. It was intended to give private landlords more opportunities to rent out homes for a shorter period to specific target groups, like students or migrant workers. But the temporary leases also resulted in less security for tenants and drove up prices.

According to the two parties, many people get into trouble because of these temporary leases. “In practice, with a temporary rental contract, you are abandoned as a tenant. You pay too much, and you’re not sure of a roof over your head in the long term,” said Pieter Grinwis (ChristenUnie).

A temporary rental contract can last up to two years and a maximum of five years for rooms. Last year, the lower house of the Dutch parliament agreed to extend that maximum period so that a temporary rental contract for a house can last up to three years. According to tenants’ association Woonbond, temporary rental contracts are now the norm in the private sector.

Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Housing and Spatial Planning) wants to regulate a larger part of the free rental market. He does not want to abolish this type of contract but wants to remove the incentives for temporary leases. Municipalities must also be given more options to tackle the abuse of this type of contract.