The law that should reduce the rents of hundreds of thousands of homes was passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday. Yet the law is not yet a done race.
The bill by Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Housing) stipulates that in many cases landlords in the private sector can no longer determine for themselves what they charge for a home. Due to the enormous demand for housing, rents in the private sector have exploded in recent years. It is expected that in the long term the rent of more than 300,000 homes will be reduced by around 190 euros per month.
It is striking that the four parties that are now discussing the formation of a new cabinet are deeply divided over the plan. VVD and BBB are firmly against it. They predict that tenants will be the victims of the change in the law, because in many cases renting will no longer be profitable and owners will therefore sell their homes. The problem for many tenants is that they earn too much to qualify for social housing, but not enough to apply for a mortgage. That is why they rely on the open rental market.
PVV and NSC are in favor of the bill. According to them, it will be necessary to monitor in the near future whether investors do not withdraw en masse from the rental market. “But something has to be done now, because many tenants are now in trouble because they now have to pay too high rents,” says PVV MP Barry Madlener. As expected, the PVV helped the law win a large majority on Thursday evening.
The Senate has yet to give its opinion
However, it is not yet entirely certain whether the law will ultimately be introduced. The Senate has yet to rule on it. The parties that are currently in favor also have a majority, but VVD and BBB would like to try to make agreements about the future of the rental market.
Just as with social rental housing, a points system will soon also have to apply to part of the private sector. The number of points for a property determines the maximum rental price that can be asked. These are houses that, according to the points system, may not cost more than approximately 1,100 euros per month. Landlords who charge too much risk a fine. The House amended the bill so that less rent may also be charged for poorly insulated houses, a proposal from GroenLinks-PvdA.
Also read:
Tenants pay attention: this way you know whether you are paying too much rent and whether you are entitled to a reduction
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Tags: Renting expensive cases Chamber supports Jonge bill Politics
