Nearly 201,000 vacant homes in the Netherlands, 11% in Amsterdam alone
The Netherlands passed the threshold of 200,000 empty homes this summer, even as the country continues to face acute housing shortages. New national figures show 200,670 vacant homes on July 1, Het Parool reported. The newspaper cited data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) showing that 21,770 of these properties, just shy of 11 percent, are in Amsterdam. The capital is home to more vacant residences than any other municipality in the Netherlands. Another 10,870 vacant homes can be found in Rotterdam.
The housing shortage has been a thorn in the side for local, provincial, and the national government for decades. Several successive national governments have promised to build 100,000 new residences on a yearly basis to improve the situation, but the construction have yet to be met.
The number of empty homes climbed sharply in the first six months of the year, rising from 194,500 on January 1 to more than 200,000 by July.
Major cities account for most of the increase. Eindhoven has nearly 4,000 empty homes, while The Hague recorded 2,640.
Regions with the highest vacancy rates include Eemsdelta in Noordoost-Groningen, where 9 percent of all homes—2,160 in total—are empty, followed by Vaals in Zuid-Limburg at 5.9 percent (340 homes) and Sluis in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen at 5.2 percent (710 homes).
A significant portion of the empty housing stock is long-term. On January 1, one in three empty homes—64,360 units—had been vacant for more than a year.
This week, the Dutch government cleared the way for municipalities to impose a vacancy tax on properties left empty for more than a year, following approval by both the Tweede Kamer and the Eerste Kamer. Municipalities will soon be able to access energy-use data from grid operators to verify long-term vacancy.
“It is important that municipalities that introduce this tax can demonstrate that homes have been vacant for a long time, or at least have strong indications that this is the case,” VNG spokesperson Esther Verhoeff told Het Parool. “Then tax can be levied.” She said access to energy-consumption data will make “the burden of proof easier.”
Belgium’s experience suggests the measure can be effective, according to research cited by urban policy group Platform31. Flemish municipalities can send owners annual tax assessments and increase the amount each year. As a result, owners often take action to bring vacant properties back to the market.
But VastgoedBelang, which represents private landlords, sharply criticized the new tax. Director Edward Touw said the proposal wrongly assumes that long-term vacancy is deliberate. “By focusing on more supervision and enforcement, the proposals seem based mainly on the idea that long-term vacancy is the result of conscious decisions by private landlords, while that is not the case,” he told Het Parool. “It is wrong that municipalities can impose a fine while delays are often caused by those same municipalities.”
Touw added that strict and slow municipal procedures frequently lead to long-term vacancy. “Municipalities often set requirements for splitting large buildings into smaller apartments that are too strict, leading to long delays. Our members also often have to wait a long time for permits for transformations and essential renovations, or for large-scale sustainability upgrades.”
Amsterdam and Utrecht have been testing a separate measure under their local vacancy ordinances, requiring owners to report a property that has been empty for six months so both sides can look for solutions.
Rotterdam temporarily halted new high-rise applications because the city planning department lacked personnel. Even a developer’s plans for extra affordable homes in a popular new-build district were postponed. “We have to make choices,” Rotterdam housing alderman Chantal Zeegers said earlier this year. “Our people are working extremely hard. It is a struggle to get staff.”
