The bill aimed at restricting excessively high rents has only a very limited impact on new homes. Lower rents will only be required for small homes (up to 55 square metres) than would be the case without this new law.
This is the result of calculations conducted by Woonbond, which is committed to helping tenants. The association believes that Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Housing) has made too many concessions to the large real estate parties that provide much of the new construction.
All new buildings now carry the A++ energy label, says Woonbond, and De Jonge wants to reward this by allowing landlords much higher rents. In addition, the value of the WOZ is largely included in the rent and owners of new construction may temporarily charge an additional 10 percent rent, on top of the new legally established maximum for existing homes.
Triple the cash register
Woonbond began his calculation using the Jonges Affordable Rent Act, which the House will take up soon. The association supports this law. But there is very little left of its goal, which is to make more rental properties affordable to middle-income earners, the association wrote to the House of Representatives. “Tenants will soon have to go to the cash register three times.”
The new law should limit excessively high rents in the private sector. In the social rental sector (with rents up to €880), maximum rents are already applied based on a points system. A house scoring 148 may cost a maximum monthly rent of €880. This system will soon continue in part of what is currently the private sector, with a maximum rent of €1,123 at 186 points.
Resistance has been mounting since De Jong announced this plan in May 2022. With private landlords with only a few homes to rent. And also in large real estate parties that, among other things, invest retirement funds in new construction. They said that investing in new rental properties would therefore become unprofitable. The Minister has shown sensitivity to this; He wants to build 981,000 homes by 2030, and without these investors this would not be possible.
Investors are making new demands
Very sensitive, says Woonbond. Two-thirds of new homes cost more than 400,000 euros. With an A++ score, these homes easily achieve more than 186 points, the association calculates, so the owner can also charge whatever he wants in the future. Homes weighing up to three tons are subject to rent restriction rules only if they are less than 55 square metres.
In its letter, Woonbond included a series of concessions that De Jonge had already made. However, major real estate investors are not satisfied yet. It is true that they would like the De Jong Act to be dealt with quickly, so that they know where they stand. But at the same time they make new demands. For example, they want the 10 percent “new construction surcharge” to apply for a longer period of time.
The outgoing government wants to fulfill another investor wish, which De Jong has already hinted at: the transport tax will be reduced. This tax was eliminated in 2021 for people who are buying a home for the first time. An additional barrier has been created for investors who want to buy a home: the property transfer tax has been gradually increased to 10.4 percent.
This high transfer tax also hinders investors in new construction: if they sell the complexes to another real estate fund over time, it is difficult for them to be affordable for the new owners. “This 10.4% is very high,” De Jong admitted when presenting the bill. He said that in doing so he also expressed the position of State Secretary Marnix van Rij (Tax Affairs).
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Minister De Jonge wants to arrange lower rents before the new government takes office
From July 1, excessively high rents can be addressed. At least if the bill regulating this gets sufficient support in the House of Representatives.
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