Gov't to limit property value's influence on rent in new bill

The government presented a new bill to limit the influence property values can have on rent. If this law is accepted, the WOZ value - the municipal estimate on how much a home is worth - can only count for a third when determining rental price, NOS reports.

The WOZ value has been part of the home valuation system, the point system with which rents are determined, since 2015. The idea was that the WOZ value would count for 25 percent on average. But over the past few years, the large cities saw their house prices skyrocket, resulting in the WOZ value making up a much larger share of the rent.

"Affordability is coming under so much pressure that rental properties in these places become unreachable for large groups," the government said in an explanation on the bill. In an attempt to limit rent increases, the government now wants the WOZ value to count for no more than 33 percent of the rent. This will lower rents for which the WOZ value currently counts more than a third, according to the government, resulting in rental homes that rose above the social rent limit of 737 euros returning to that segment.

The cabinet submitted the bill for online consultation on Tuesday. Authorities and citizens can now give their opinion on the plans. After this consultation, the lower house of parliament and the Senate still have to pass the law.