Much-discussed rental law adopted by the House of Representatives: ‘Good balance found’

The Affordable Rent Act was passed by the House of Representatives with a large majority on Thursday. The PVV ultimately helped the law win a large majority. “For far too long, the law of the strongest has reigned supreme,” Minister De Jonge said afterwards.

The Rent Act stipulates that homes with a rent of up to 1,123 euros no longer fall under the private sector. The government wants to significantly expand the market for regulated rentals with the law. The hope is that this will also reduce rents. This means that in the long term about 80 percent of the current free sector will be regulated. In addition, municipalities will now have the authority to enforce if homes are rented for excessive amounts.

‘Right of the strongest is no longer prevalent’

Minister De Jonge is ‘particularly happy for tenants who are currently in overpriced rental properties’. “The rent has to come down for them,” he says afterwards. ‘For far too long, the law of the strongest has reigned supreme. This law chooses to protect tenants, but in such a way that investors and landlords can also do their work.’ For example, builders may charge a surcharge of ten percent on top of the maximum rental price for new-build homes for a number of years. The House of Representatives thus wants to prevent new construction from stalling too much.

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The VVD and BBB fear a wave of sales of rental properties, now that renting is becoming less profitable. That is why they fiercely opposed the law. Housing economist Stefan Groot of RaboResearch also said on BNR this afternoon that he does not think the law is a good plan. Especially because a group of home seekers who cannot buy, but earn too much for social housing, are in danger of ‘finding themselves between the cracks’.

Different fiscal policies

De Jonge acknowledges that the law will certainly lead to some landlords putting their homes up for sale. ‘In recent years it happened the other way around. Then affordable homes were bought up by private landlords who then charged top dollar for them and turned them into overpriced rental properties.’ De Jonge therefore does not think it is a problem, but rather a solution that these homes find their way back onto the housing market. ‘Many people who live in those overpriced rental properties would actually prefer to buy.’

In order not to leave investors completely out in the cold, the House of Representatives is still considering tax policy that will ensure that investments in the housing market remain attractive. For example, there is talk of reducing the transfer tax and the tax on rental properties in box 3. De Jonge also talks about a ‘tax discussion’ that will be held later this year. ‘Ultimately it’s about creating a good balance. The tenant must pay a fair rent and the investor must be able to achieve a fair return.’

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The Senate still has to consider the law. It is not yet known when that will happen. If the same parties vote in favor in the Senate as in the House of Representatives, the law would also obtain a majority there.