The points system used to determine the rent of a home will be overhauled. Many more homes must be included so that people with a middle income can more easily find an affordable rental home. The cabinet has agreed to a proposal to this effect from Minister De Jonge.
The new system will start on January 1, 2024, and only applies to new rental contracts. “An affordable rental home is less and less self-evident for people with a middle income. Due to the enormous scarcity, the top prize is demanded for homes that are really not worth it, "said Minister De Jonge.
What will change?
The current points system only offers protection to low-income tenants. Social rental housing can receive up to 142 points. The number of points depends, among other things, on the number of square meters. The maximum number of points includes a rental price of 763 euros.
That is the limit to which the rent protection goes. People with a middle income or higher are currently still dependent on the free market, where exorbitant prices are often asked.
In the new system, the points system is extended to a maximum of 187 points. That will include, by the time the new rules come into effect, a rent of 1100 euros. According to Minister De Jonge, rents per square meter in the private sector have risen by 25 percent since 2013. Particularly in the cities, renting is therefore no longer feasible for people with a middle income.
“While there is a great shortage of teachers, nurses and police officers. It is precisely for these people that an affordable segment must remain in the current tight market,” says De Jonge. He assumes that the rent of more than 300,000 homes that still fall under the private sector will fall by an average of 190 euros after the introduction of the new system.
Landlords who still charge too high rents risk a fine from 2024.
