Housing associations are estimated to be around EUR 24 billion short by 2035 to meet their targets. This is evident from a report by the Ministries of the Interior, Economic Affairs and Finance. Outgoing minister Ollongren has sent it to the Lower House.
Last year it became apparent that in a few years’ time the corporations will be short of billions to build all the houses they need and to make homes more sustainable. The deficit is slightly lower than expected, but remains very high.
Especially in the regions of The Hague / Rotterdam, Utrecht and the Food Valley region (Barneveld / Ede area), housing corporations are at risk of not being able to implement about 40 percent of the targets set if the shortage is not addressed.
Problems will also arise in the rest of the country in the coming years with the construction of new social rental homes and making them more sustainable. The problems are least serious in the regions of Groningen / Drenthe, North Holland North, East Netherlands, Drechtsteden, Zeeland and part of the river area. There, only a “very limited share of the task” would be affected if the policy is not amended, the report says.
Quickly in a pinch
In some regions, housing corporations will be in trouble in three years, in 2028 there would be a “national financial bottleneck”. The exact size of the shortage depends on population development. If the number of households grows much faster than expected until 2035, there is a risk of a deficit of 42 billion euros. However, if the number of households grows less rapidly, the deficit is still around 15 billion euros.
The report mentions possible measures to reduce the deficit. The most important option is to tackle the landlord levy, the tax on social rental housing. Halving this would already lead to a deficit of more than 17 billion euros, which would solve the problem in most regions. A shortage remains only in the regions of The Hague / Rotterdam, Utrecht and FoodValley.
If the landlord levy is completely abolished, almost all plans can be implemented. Only in the region of The Hague / Rotterdam would a small shortage persist. Another recommendation from the report is to provide subsidies to housing corporations in areas where the shortage is greatest. Furthermore, corporations should consider selling expensive rental properties.
New cabinet’s turn
The situation on the housing market will undoubtedly play a major role in the formation. Last year, it was calculated by order of the Ministry of the Interior that there is a shortage of more than 330,000 homes in the Netherlands. People also often have to be on a waiting list for years for social housing.
Many parties indicated in the campaign that they wanted to get rid of the landlord levy. The cabinet has taken measures in recent years. For example, the landlord levy has already been slightly reduced and the construction of 150,000 homes must be accelerated by 2025.
Outgoing minister Ollongren writes in a letter to the House that the new cabinet “has to make a choice about the social tasks and the means available for this”. In her scenarios she does not speak of abolishing the landlord levy, but of halving it. It is also suggested to work with subsidies or a stronger income-related rent increase.
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