Social landlords raise rents 3.6%, citing need to expand housing supply

Rents for social housing are increasing by an average of 3.6 percent this year, figures from housing association umbrella body Aedes show. While the rise is smaller than that seen in the past two years, housing associations have opted to apply the largest rent increase permitted under current rules.

Housing associations urgently need the additional income to ensure they can continue investing in new homes, an Aedes spokesperson said. The revenue generated from rents directly affects their borrowing capacity for development projects. National housing agreements stipulate that, starting in 2029, associations must add 30,000 social housing homes annually.

National agreements with the government and municipalities cap annual rent increases for social housing at the average inflation rate of the preceding three years. Statistics Netherlands reported in January that average inflation across 2025 came in at 3.3 percent. More recently, the agency said consumer prices in May were 3.5 percent higher than a year earlier.

Under that rule, introduced this year, rents cannot be raised by more than 3.6 percent. Aedes notes, however, that average wage growth and benefit increases outpaced the rent hike last year, meaning many tenants are likely to see housing costs take up a smaller proportion of their income.

According to Aedes, social housing rents rose less than they were permitted to last year. Based on wage increases under collective labour agreements, landlords could have raised rents by up to 6.1 percent, but the increase was restricted to 4.5 percent to ease the burden on tenants who saw more modest income growth. The organisation also noted that social rents were frozen entirely five years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The measure ensured that rents increased by less, and we support that,” an Aedes spokesperson said about the earlier rent restraint. “But it is less positive for people looking for housing, because we need the financial capacity to invest in making new homes possible.”

The announced average rent increase will take effect on July 1.