If it is up to the House of Representatives, landlords in the private sector cannot increase their rents indefinitely in the next five years. The House voted on Tuesday in favor of a bill by outgoing Minister De Jonge (Public Housing, CDA) that makes unlimited rent increases impossible. The Senate must rule on it before the spring recess.
In 2021, the annual rent increase in the private sector was already restricted. In the bill by former PvdA MP Henk Nijboer, the maximum rent increase was linked to the increase in collective labor agreement wages, plus an extra percentage point. When inflation skyrocketed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, inflation was also added to the law: the lower of the two would be used in the calculation.
The 'Nijboer law' expires on May 1. If no new rules were introduced, landlords could again increase their rents from May 1 without a legal upper limit. To prevent tenants from having to deal with “excessive rent increases”, De Jonge came up with a proposal that in fact extends the Nijboer law – although the House of Representatives tightened the proposal even further on Tuesday.
The new rules will not apply for three, but for five years. The 'lower of the two' principle also continues to apply; De Jonge initially proposed that only wage increases would count, but due to an amendment by GroenLinks-PvdA, ChristenUnie and NSC, this now changes to wage increases or inflation – whichever is lower. For the coming year this is the inflation rate of 4.5 percent. If the Senate adopts the law, rents in the private sector may therefore increase by a maximum of 5.5 percent from May 1. A landlord may only determine a new rent in the event of a change of residents.
Also ceiling for mid-range rent
De Jonge wants to regulate the rental market even further. This month the House of Representatives will discuss a bill that sets a rent ceiling for the so-called mid-rental sector – the cheapest part of the private sector. If this law is passed, these homes will soon fall under the valuation system that also determines the rent for social housing. This concerns homes that, according to the points system, may not cost more than 1,100 euros in rent. If a landlord asks for more, new tenants will soon be able to enforce a rent reduction. The politically sensitive bill will be debated later this month. If it is up to De Jonge, the law will come into effect before July 1.
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