Affordable rent protections may be scaled back to stop rental market sell-off: Minister

Housing Minister Mona Keijzer plans to adjust the rules for rental properties to make it possible for landlords to charge higher amounts of rent. In this way, she wants to prevent the ongoing sell-off of rental properties, the minister from political party BBB wrote in a letter to Parliament on Thursday.

Private landlords and other small investors in particular are selling their residential properties, Keijzer concluded from an analysis of housing market data. This is said to be due to a combination of policy, regulations and economic circumstances.

The Affordable Rent Act, which created a mid-market housing segment with a maximum rental price, is one policy playing a role, Keijzer said. This form of regulation has been in effect since July, but rental homes have been sold off at an increasing rate since 2021, according to the minister.

The first measure concerns the rule that the official WOZ valuation of a home may count for a maximum of one-third when determining the rent. Keijzer is thinking of a “price surcharge” for homes that are affected by this rule. As a result, the maximum rent could increase by dozens of euros.

Homes without outdoor space currently lose points in their rating which help determine if a property falls into the social housing, mid-market, or free market rental segments. Keijzer wants to abolish the possibility of those negative points from being assessed. The maximum rent can then be increased by around 33 euros per month, she claimed.

According to the minister, small national monumental homes have a “unique characteristic quality” and are often located in nice areas. Keijzer wants to see this reflected in a rental price that may be 40 to 70 euros higher than is currently the case.

Keijzer wants to submit her decisions before the summer to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament, so they can take effect on January 1, 2026, a spokesperson said. It is not yet certain whether that will succeed.

The higher rental prices will only be possible with rental contracts that are concluded under the new rules.