Report slams “nonsensical” rules as housing prices shoot up nearly 20% in some cities
With Dutch housing prices surging by nearly 20 percent in some cities and 10 percent nationwide, a new government-commissioned report due on Friday will recommend slashing "over-the-top" building regulations to accelerate construction, according to AD. The paper argues a "nonsensical" web of "contradictory and superfluous regulations" stifles housing development and contributes to soaring costs, and controversial measures are needed to speed up home construction.
Successive Cabinets have called for the annual construction of 100,000 new residences, but the annual net gains have completely missed the mark. Housing prices have continued to climb, according to final sales figures, and analysts think the average national price could jump another 10 percent by the end of 2026. Data released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on Friday showed that home sold at an increase of nearly 20 percent in Bunnik in April when compared to a year earlier. Similar spikes were recorded in Waddinxveen and Gouda.
Prices continue to climb in the four largest cities as well, with the average price in Amsterdam up 6.4 percent annually to over 632,700 euros by the end of the first quarter. A boost of 8.9 percent brought sales prices in Rotterdam up to nearly 406,200 euros. The Hague saw first quarter sales average at 443,800, an increase of 10.7 percent, while Utrecht realtors sold homes for an average of almost 557,000 euros, a shocking 14.2 percent jump.
Although the national government pushes to alleviate the gap between housing supply and demand, it is the collection of regulations as a whole which is to blame, said TU Delft Professor Emeritus Friso de Zeeuw. "For the vast majority of cases, there is always a good reason behind it, but the sum is killing and causes delays," he told AD. The 73-year-old was tapped by current Housing Minister Mona Keijzer (BBB) to head up her committee to Eliminate Conflicting and Unnecessary Requirements and Regulations, known as the STOER Commission.
The Commission's final report, which will be released on Friday, proposes a sweeping deregulation of the building process, from environmental studies to parking requirements, De Zeeuw told the newspaper. It contends that while individual regulations may have good intentions, their cumulative effect creates insurmountable hurdles and significant delays for new housing projects.
The report suggests that complaints from local residents, such as those concerning loss of views from new construction, could be handled more efficiently. The commission proposes using artificial intelligence to process such objections, which are often routinely rejected but still consume valuable time.
The committee said addressing wildlife protection with the current method of flora and fauna surveys is a frequent cause of months-long delays, as projects await the end of breeding seasons. De Zeeuw even questioned the necessity of protecting common birds like magpies and gulls, suggesting a more pragmatic approach to environmental assessments.
Overly rigid rules regarding potential archaeological finds and contaminated soil significantly impede construction, the STOER Commission report argues. Even a minimal presence of PFAS, for instance, can trigger expensive soil remediation or halt development altogether, leading to millions of euros in extra costs for municipalities.
Furthermore, the report criticizes building code mandates, such as the requirement for less-steep staircases in new residences to aid accessibility for the elderly. De Zeeuw argues this adds unnecessary costs and reduces living space. "You can bet that my wife and I are elderly, but we can still manage our steep staircase," he quipped.
Politicians still need to urgently address the situation, even though Prime Minister Dick Schoof's Cabinet collapsed this week, and Keijzer is now a caretaker minister. Elections are unlikely to be held before the end of October, and the process to form Schoof's Cabinet took around seven months. Caretaker Cabinets do not typically have the political will to take on controversial issues without growing substantial support in Parliament.
But the Netherlands cannot simply wait another year to address the housing crisis, the professor said. De Zeeuw urged politicians to act on the recommendations despite potential resistance from various interest groups. He stressed that while every regulation has its own advocates, a failure to implement these changes will continue to hinder the much-needed increase in housing construction.
