Rent regulation law can count on majority support in Dutch Senate

Outgoing Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge’s Affordable Rent Act can expect majority support in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate. A large majority of parties in the Senate plan to vote in favor of the bill, which will regulate mid-segment rental housing, became clear during a debate on Tuesday.

The PVV’s decision to support the law is the decisive factor. The left-wing parties, the CDA, and the ChristenUnie also plan to vote in favor, bringing the bill to a majority, NU.nl reports. The PVV also helped get majority support for the bill in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament.

De Jonge wants to protect tenants who pay too much rent in the tight housing market with this bill. The Affordable Rent Act extends the points system that already applies to social housing to also include 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 other right-wing parties, including the PVV’s new coalition partners VVD and BBB, are against the law. The fourth coalition party, NSC, is not in the Eerste Kamer.

Opponents fear that rent regulations will impact landlords’ incomes to such an extent that they sell off their properties. The landlord organization Stichting Fair Huur previously claimed that the Affordable Rent Act would make 60 percent of big-city rentals unprofitable.

De Jonge is not too worried about this. As long as landlords don’t sell off their rentals on a large scale, the properties that get sold will benefit people trying to enter the owner-occupied market, he says.

Various parties, including the PVV, asked the Minister to continue to closely monitor the consequences of the law for the housing market. The Ministry agreed to keep a close eye on the number of available rental properties every quarter.

The Eerste Kamer will vote on the law next week. If adopted, it will take effect on July 1. That does not mean that rents will suddenly drop on July 1. The rent regulation only takes effect when a new tenant moves into the home, according to NU.nl.