Landlords selling private sector rentals as new rules slash their income
Private landlords are selling their rental properties because new government policy is making their rental income too low, NOS reports after surveying landlords. Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge’s plans to regulate part of the private rental sector next year and this year's increase in wealth tax on houses that are rented out are their primary concerns.
Realtors in Amsterdam clearly see more rental properties entering the owner-occupied market. “Absolutely, yes. You saw it a bit last year, and it has increased considerably since the turn of the year,” Jerry Wijnen of the Real Estate Association Amsterdam told the broadcaster. “People decide not to put a home up for rent again. I notice it in daily practice, and so do colleagues.”
Paul Uitjewaal, a 61-year-old who rents out three homes in Hilversum, told NOS that renting has suddenly become unattractive. “For example, I have a house that I now rent for 1,350 euros and which would fall back to 1,000 euros because it will soon fall under the mid-market rental rules. And then I will be assessed higher in box 3, and then the return you had hoped for is completely gone.” He plans on selling his rentals as soon as the tenants move out. “And with the proceeds, I will buy real estate in another country.”
Amsterdam landlord Dirk van Hees offered his tenants 30,000 euros to find another place. “It is now definitely more attractive to sell than to keep the house even if I have lost those 30,000 euros. I had it all calculated by a tax specialist and accountant.”
The government already considered that its measures would lead to the sale of rental properties but does not see that as a massive issue if it happens in favor of the owner-occupied market. “If a house is sold to a middle-income person who would otherwise rent, the demand for middle-income rent decreases at the same time. After all, the middle-income person in question has found an affordable home, only not a rental, but an owner-occupied home,” Minister De Jonge said when explaining his bill.
The Woonbond, the interest organization for tenants, is also not overly concerned. “We mainly see it as a reversal of what has happened in recent years: people bought owner-occupied homes to rent out,” a spokesperson said. The proportion of private sector rentals in the Dutch housing market doubled from 4 percent in 2012 to about 8 percent in 2021.
