10 billion euro on rental home repairs, Aedes says

Housing corporations in the Netherlands invested a record 10.5 billion euro in 2023 on maintenance, sustainability upgrades, and housing improvements, an increase of over 15 percent compared to the previous year, according to industry association Aedes. Inflation accounted for roughly one-third of the rise, while the remaining 10 percent resulted from increased activity in housing upgrades.

As part of an agreement with the Dutch government, corporations are working to eliminate homes with the lowest energy labels—E, F, and G—by the end of 2028. Efforts include insulation upgrades or demolishing outdated homes to replace them with energy-efficient alternatives.

The number of properties with low energy ratings dropped from 180,700 to 142,900 in 2023, a decrease of 21 percent. However, Aedes noted that two-thirds of this reduction was due to adjustments in energy label measurement standards. Meanwhile, 44 percent of all corporate housing now carries an energy label of A or higher, an improvement from 2022.

The significant expenditures were facilitated by the 2023 abolition of the landlord levy, a special tax imposed on housing corporations in 2013. “The abolition of the landlord levy has been fully reinvested into housing and affordable rents,” said Aedes.

Despite these efforts, housing corporations are running at a financial deficit. For the fourth consecutive year, corporations spent more than they earned from rental income. “We are now subsidizing each home by 11 euro per month,” said Aedes chairman Martin van Rijn. “With over 2.3 million homes, this amounts to a substantial sum.”

Corporations are primarily financing their projects through loans, with 4.3 billion euro borrowed to fund new construction in 2023. Van Rijn cautioned that these practices are unsustainable, stating, “Without balance between expenditures and revenues, new construction and sustainability efforts will eventually halt.”

In 2023, housing corporations built 17,801 new homes, a year-over-year increase of 11 percent. However, the net gain in social housing units was only around 8,000, as some units were demolished to make way for new developments.

While corporations aim to build 30,000 homes annually to alleviate the housing shortage, they face obstacles, including lengthy zoning approval processes, rising construction costs, and limited available land. Over 60 percent of corporations reported insufficient land for planned projects. “The housing shortage remains critical,” said Van Rijn. “Corporations are committed to increasing construction output, but they are hindered by systemic challenges.”

Aedes has called for the removal of corporate tax obligations for housing corporations, arguing that these organizations have no profit motive and reinvest all income into public housing. Eliminating corporate tax would save corporations over 1 billion euro annually, Aedes said.

Van Rijn also urged the government to finalize the Housing Sector Strengthening Act, which would streamline objection procedures and provide provinces and the national government with more control over housing projects.

In 2023, about 600,000 tenants benefited from one-time rent reductions, lowering the average social housing rent to 577 euro per month. Despite these measures, social housing rents increased by 5.6 percent in 2024, the steepest rise in over 30 years.

Tenant organization Woonbond exited discussions over national housing agreements, citing concerns about steep rent hikes. The group warned of further increases in 2025, exacerbating affordability issues for tenants in social housing.

Corporations spent 10,500 euro per unit on maintenance and sustainability upgrades, up 15.5 percent from the previous year. The improvements often involved significant renovations costing over 10,000 euro per unit.

In 2023, such upgrades were completed on over 140,000 homes, representing 6.3 percent of the housing stock, compared to 5.4 percent in 2022. However, inflation and rising construction costs continue to challenge the pace of these improvements.