Many landlords not complying with rent regulation
Many landlords are circumventing rent regulations for mid-market rentals, the Volkskrant discovered when checking the rental properties on Pararius on a random day in November. The newspaper found that many landlords are calculating points to their rentals too high to push them into the free market, or hiding too-high rents by offering apartments furnished or with other amenities included.
The Affordable Rent Act took effect on July 1 with the aim of fighting high rents in the mid-segment of the rental market. It extended the points system that applied to social housing to mid-range rental properties. Mid-range rentals have points between 144 and 186 and may be rented for an amount of 879 to 1,165 euros per month based on their points.
Properties get points for their size and amenities. The energy label makes a big difference. For example, a property scores 62 points for the highest energy label (A++++) and -15 points for the lowest (G). But there are also smaller ways to get points. A bathtub, for example, yields 6 points. A longer kitchen counter is 7 points. Having no outdoor space like a garden or balcony is -5.
The Volkskrant checked all 2,110 rental properties listed on Pararius - one of the largest housing platforms in the Netherlands - on a random day in November. Of these properties, 287 had a rent just above the 1,165 euros per month limit. The newspaper then took a closer look at these properties using the points system to see why they fell into the free market instead of the regulated one.
The Volkskrant found that 61 of the 287 homes investigated messed with the points and should actually be in the regulated market. According to the newspaper, the actual number is likely higher. Only 53 of the 287 homes convincingly scored more than 186 points. There were 43 homes that can be considered questionable.
The newspaper also found 90 homes where the number of points is definitely in the regulated market, but the rent is higher and it is unclear how the landlord came to that. “The landlords mask the basic rent by offering a rent including all kinds of costs,” the newspaper wrote. “This makes it difficult for a tenant to determine in advance whether the rent is correct.” The same applies to when a home is offered furnished. Furniture counts toward the points system, but it is also common practice to include it in the service costs.
“The study shows how complicated it is to check whether the new rental law is functioning,” Matthijs Korevaar, an economist at Erasmus University, told the Volkskrant. “That question is politically relevant: can we even monitor the effects of this law and enforce them?”
The responsibility of monitoring whether the rent charged is fair lies primarily with the tenant. Tenants who think their rent is too high can ask the Rent Assessment Committee to check. Since 2019, tenants won around 80 percent of disputes filed with the committee.
From next year, landlords must report the points count of their homes. If they don’t do so, or the rent charged does not match the points, the involved municipality can fine them.
