Social housing tenants squeezed by rent increases tied to pay raises

Some social housing tenants are in trouble because the income-related rent increases they are facing are "unreasonably high," said a spokesperson for tenants' association Woonbond. The organization has received several hundred reports about the rent hikes, leaving people with a reduced amount of money to spend on essentials, he said.

A "significant portion" of those filing reports said they are now faced with difficult financial choices. For example, between turning up the heating or eating three meals a day. He suspects that a quarter to a third of the people reporting have to make these kinds of choices.

The income-related rent increase was introduced ten years ago. If the income of a resident of a social housing rental property exceeds a certain amount, the landlord may raise the rent. The intention is that the tenant will move to a more expensive home and free up the social housing location for people who are financially less fortunate.

Depending on the income and the number of residents, the increase is a maximum of 50 or 100 euros. The Woonbond would prefer to see the income-related rent increase disappear altogether.

Pensioners in particular will run into problems due to the income-related rent increase, the spokesperson said. Typically, when their incomes grow, the annual increase is not as strong as wage earners, he said. That does not prevent them from reaching a threshold where the landlord can demand a higher monthly fee.

"They have nowhere to go. Similar homes for the same price are not available," he said.

Aedes, the association of social housing providers, indicated that people who receive an income-related rent increase earn "considerably" more than the income limit to initially qualify for a social rental home. "It can therefore be assumed that tenants will not immediately run into financial problems due to an income-related rent increase. If that is the case in individual situations, a tenant can always object."