Plan to build a million homes is unachievable; Housing shortage will grow, says expert

The caretaker Cabinet's aim of building 981,000 homes before 2030 will not be achieved, according to Peter Boelhouwer, a housing systems professor at TU Delft. "The task is enormous," he said this during the Housing Summit in The Hague on Thursday.

Boelhouwer believes that the housing shortage will increase in the coming years. Other real estate experts previously indicated that the government's plans are not feasible.

The housing shortage will stay at it’s highest level for the next 10 to 15 years as the population in the Netherlands continues to grow, the professor predicted. It is also unclear how the population growth will develop, he explained. In particular, it is not yet known how immigration will develop in the coming years. "We are not going to solve the housing shortage with housing construction alone."

More efficient use of existing homes is vital for that reason, according to Boelhouwer. For example the professor thinks that more homes should be divided into multiple units. Several large cities are seeking to use regulatory power to prevent this.

Boelhouwer also believes that the housing market should have "a flexible shell," by which he means the use of flexible housing. "That's not fun. It means poor value for money, but it is a roof over your head. We have to accept that, otherwise we simply won't make it," the professor said.

Several organisations presented their plans to speed up the housing construction at the Housing Summit in The Hague. Around a 100,000 homes must be built per year to tackle the housing crisis, according to provinces, municipalities, corporations, builders, developers, investors, real estate agents and consumer organizations.

They are seeking an annual financial contribution of 3 to 5 billion euros from the government to make this happen.