Rentals homes halved in 10 years; Realtors plea with Minister to intervene

Real estate agency NVM is calling on Minister of Housing Mona Keijzer to take action in the rental homes market to prevent it from getting worse. The NVM is referring to the drop in the number of rental transactions in the last three months. According to the NVM, the number of rental contracts has dropped by over a quarter compared to the same period last year.

The NVM also pointed out the new Affordable Rent Act, implemented by former housing minister Hugo de Jonge, as a reason for the impoverishment of the rental market. Many landlords have chosen to sell their rental homes because the law gave rental homes in the middle segment a maximum rental price. This has resulted in the options for a rental home dwindling. "The competition is now fierce," says department chair Lana Gerssen of NVM Wonen.

Real Estate Management Netherlands board member Ronald de Nas has seen that the Affordable Rent Act "has had the opposite effect" initially. "The smaller homes in the older neighborhoods are not profitable anymore, partly because investments in sustainability are too high."

Rest estate advisor Envalue calculated that a quarter of a million rental homes that were given a maximum rental price due to the new law could be given back to the free sector if they are made more sustainable. But according to De Nas, that turns out to be a pricey affair.

The rental market is getting smaller, so the average rental price per square meter is increasing. According to the NVM, you now pay an average of 17.24 euros per square meter, which is 8 percent more than in the same period last year.