Many new rules in effect from July 1 in the Netherlands

Every year on July 1, the Netherlands implements new laws or changes to existing ones. From today, smoke detectors are compulsory in all homes, minimum wages increase slightly, energy prices rise, and library membership is free to all children and teenagers.

From today, every house must have a smoke detector on every floor with a living room or bedroom. Before, the obligation in the Building Decree only applied to new homes built from 2003. People living in older houses could decide for themselves whether or not to install a smoke detector.

The gross statutory minimum wage is increasing slightly today. As of July 1, the statutory gross minimum wage for employees aged 21 and older with full employment is 1,756.20 euros per month, up from 1,725 euros per month.

Along with the minimum wage, welfare benefits from unemployment to the state pension are also increasing today. These benefits are linked to the minimum wage.

Some large pension funds are also increasing their pension benefits this month for the first time in years.

Social housing rents are also increasing today. Landlords in the social sector can increase rents by up to 2.3 percent - last year’s inflation. People with higher salaries living in social housing may face bigger rent increases.

Energy prices are also rising today. Essent is increasing prices by 25 to 30 percent, depending on the size of the house and the energy consumption. That means consumers will pay between 25 and 90 euros more per month. At Vattenfall, the monthly costs for electricity and gas will be about 20 euros higher. This only applies to customers with a variable rate or who have to sign a new energy contract.

To counter that, the government reduced the VAT on energy, taking effect today. Gas and electricity are subject to the high VAT rate of 21 percent but will temporarily fall under the low VAT rate of 9 percent.

Everyone under the age of 18 throughout the Netherlands can become a member of the library for free from today. This also applies to the Caribbean Netherlands. Before the change, the Library Act stated that libraries could request a contribution from underage members.

The child benefit is increasing today to help parents cope with the high inflation. Parents will get an extra 20 euros per child per quarter. People with a child age six and under now receive 249.31 euros per quarter, from 6 to 11 years 302.74 euros per quarter, and for teens 12 to 18 years 356.16 euros.

Influencers and vloggers on social media are now included in the media law, which means they must comply with stricter advertising rules. Influencers must clearly state when they display products they received for free. They can also no longer promote toys in sponsored videos aimed at children. The new rules apply to content creators with over 500,000 followers.

Home seekers who make an offer on a house will now be able to see what other offers the sellers received. This applies to houses sold through brokers associated with NVM, VBO, or Vastgoedpro. This should make the bidding process more transparent.

From today, people caught driving an unregistered agricultural- or construction vehicle face a fine of 400 euros. The obligation to register your tractor, for example, took effect on January 1. But the government gave a six-month grace period to give farmers and construction businesses time to register their vehicles.

Large businesses must now pay small- and medium-sized enterprises who provided a service or product to them more quickly. The maximum time from invoice to pay is now 30 days instead of 60.

People who missed their PostNL delivery will no longer receive a paper note. Instead, the postal company will inform you via email or app.