Broad support from the House of Representatives for a stricter approach to exorbitant rental housing prices

NOS News•today, 8:23 PM

The House of Representatives supports the much-discussed government proposal to intervene in the prices of homes in the open rental market. The law to crack down on extortionate prices for tenants was discussed extensively this week and ultimately tonight the PVV, GroenLinks-PvdA, NSC, D66, SP, CDA, Party for the Animals, ChristenUnie and Volt voted in favor.

Together that is a large majority of 112 seats. VVD, BBB, JA21, Forum for Democracy and SGP voted against.

For a long time, the support of the largest party PVV was uncertain. The PVV believes that more should be built and fewer migrants should be admitted and says it does not like too much regulation. “But we give the law the benefit of the doubt,” PVV MP Matlener said in the debate yesterday.

According to him, rents have risen far too fast in recent years. Outside the social sector, a landlord is still allowed to determine the price of his home himself, and due to the housing shortage, this price is often sky-high.

With this position of the PVV, there is also a good chance that there will be a majority in the Senate, despite the vote against it by the VVD and the largest party in the Senate, BBB. It is still unknown when the Senate will discuss the law and it will then become clear whether the law will come into effect on July 1, 2024, or on January 1, 2025.

The law will be amended in a number of areas. Landlords of homes with a low energy label must put extra effort into energy measures. Landlords of draughty homes receive fewer points in the system that determines the rental value. In this way, a tenant who has a high energy bill receives extra help.

There will also be compensation for builders. Landlords of new rental properties may request a surcharge of 10 percent on the maximum rental price of 1,123 euros until January 1, 2028. This is to prevent a decline in new rental housing construction because investors do not earn enough from it.

After the launch of Minister De Jonge’s plan, investors and private landlords loudly protested against the law. They warn of adverse effects. Due to the disappearance of their revenue model, rental properties will be sold en masse, they say. The Council of State also fears this. De Jonge then made adjustments to accommodate the critics.

The VVD, BBB, JA21 share the fears of landlords and investors and therefore voted against.