Housing costs have risen much more substantially than in previous years

Housing costs have risen very sharply this year, especially when compared to recent years, said the Center for Research on the Economics of Local Authorities (COELO) at the University of Groningen (RUG). People who own a home in particular are paying more, because homeowners are spending more money on average in municipal taxes and payments to the water board.

Homeowners will spend an average of 1,670 euros on housing costs this year, COELO concludes. That is 118 euros more than in 2023. They spend 58 euros more on the municipality, 52 euros more on water boards and 9 euros on province fees.

A renter will pay an average of 72 euros more than last year, bringing their housing costs spending to just under 1,000 euros. Half of that higher amount will go to the water board, 27 euros to the municipality and the remaining 9 euros to the province.

According to COELO, people who own a home spend more on municipal taxes than tenants, because only homeowners pay property tax (ozb) to the municipality. Additionally, there is a difference in the levies paid to the water board. In some municipalities, tenants also do not pay sewer taxes.

Municipalities expect to receive 8.5 percent more from taxes and fees this year than last year, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) said in January. The amount is expected to total 13.3 billion euros thanks to the biggest year-on-year increase since 2007.

The municipalities are likely to collect 5.5 billion euros in property tax alone, 7.5 percent more than a year earlier. This is mainly due to the higher official WOZ property valuations.