Housing Minister wants to make it more lucrative to rent out a room in your house

The caretaker Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning, Mona Keijzer, wants to extend temporary rental contracts for people who rent a room from a live-in landlord. This would be a maximum length of five years with a trial period of nine months. The contract can also be ripped up by the tenant within the first month if they are not happy with the situation.

The BBB caretaker minister thinks that this could make it easier for students to find a room and reduce the insecurity about their living space. In addition, landlords would no longer be tied to a tenant indefinitely after nine months, as the contract could still be terminated even after five years. It's currently the case that a rental contract is converted into a permanent contract after nine months.

People with a rental home and people with a purchased home would be given the possibility of renting out a room. For tenants, this would only be possible after having been given permission from the landlord or housing association.

Tenants who want to sublet will have the option to object if the income from renting out a room leads to a higher income-based rent.

Previously, Keijzer said that around 100,000 people have shown interest in becoming a live-in landlord. The BBB caretaker minister thinks that this would solve the housing shortage for students “in one hit,” as there is a shortage of around 60,000 rooms.

Anyone has been able to respond to the draft bill online since Wednesday.