More, not fewer rental homes in private sector despite looming rent regulation
Outgoing Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge’s plans to regulate mid-market rentals have long led to concerns of investors selling off their properties and the stock of private sector rentals dwindling. But so far, that hasn’t happened. According to the Land Registry, there are now more rentals in the private sector, NOS reports.
The Land Registry confirmed that there has been an increase in the number of rental homes sold. But the total number of private sector rentals increased, not decreased. “Many landlords sell homes to other landlords, which means they remain in the rental market. New construction also adds many rental properties,” said Paul de Vries, a housing market expert at the Land Registry. “We see that the rental housing stock is increasing for all types of landlord categories.
De Vries acknowledged that landlords can only sell their rental properties when the tenant leaves. “The big sales wave will only take place in the longer term.” But he thinks the new homes added to the market through construction and conversion will balance that out.
The Land Registry also sees that an increasing number of rental homes is going to buyers who live in them themselves. Young first-time buyers - the group that has long been the most disadvantaged on the Dutch housing market - in particular, are buying homes. “Rental properties that are now coming onto the market from investors fall into the category that first-time buyers are interested in,” De Vries said. “It’s affordable housing.”
De Jonge’s bill, which he hopes to implement on July 1, will extend the points system that already applies to social housing to rental properties up to a rent of 1,123 euros and 1,235 euros for new construction. The points system sets the maximum rent for a property based on what it offers in terms of size and insulation, for example. The system should eventually save 300,000 tenants an average of 190 euros per month on rent.
The bill still has to pass through both parliament and the Senate. The VVD and BBB previously spoke out against the bill, and during a parliamentary debate on Wednesday, it became clear that the NSC and PVV also have doubts about it. These four parties are currently discussing forming the next Dutch government together. They have a majority in parliament and are eight votes short of a majority in the Senate.
