Bouwend Nederland wants a firm agreement for 100,000 building permits

The government must make "enforceable agreements" with the national government, municipalities, and provinces that ensure that 100,000 building permits are issued annually, argues chairman Arno Visser of Bouwend Nederland. That would be a good way to combat the shortage of housing in the Netherlands, he said on the talk show WNL Op Zondag.

According to Visser, the lack of affordable housing in the Netherlands is not so much the result of mistakes in legislation, but of a lack of determination. For example, too few permits for the construction of new homes are still granted each year.

“No house is built without a permit. So if we want to build 100,000 houses a year, 100,000 permits would have to be issued, but there are none. And that's not in the legislation. You can't solve this problem with even more legislation,” says the chairman of the construction company group.

“It starts with the local authorities, who have to make sure that these construction sites are there. You don't solve this with a law but with decisive action. And if municipalities and provinces are unable to find a solution, the minister should say: let's do it now,” he continues. He called on NSC MP Merlien Welzijn to urge the government to make binding agreements to get the licensing process going.

Welzijn believes that the housing minister should take the reins where necessary. “Having a building site is one thing. What we want is social housing, mid-range rental housing, and affordable owner-occupied housing. These are all housing segments where you don’t make very big returns as an investor,” she says on the talk show.

Visser agrees with the MP that the minister should intervene more. As far as he is concerned, a crisis law is not necessary, because the minister already has the means. "The beginning is with those municipalities that have to take action and have locations. You don't solve that with a law, but with an effective administration," he explains.

Now construction projects are mainly delayed because there is too much talk, many regulations are added, and because there is often litigation against construction plans. According to Visser, it easily takes ten years before a house is built.