And it only took several massive protests and a multi-year structural housing problem to do it!
Translated by Thomas Ansell
As reported by the NOS, the Dutch government is to announce an extra 1 billion euros to be put towards building new, affordable, houses as quickly as possible. The measure is likely to be announced in the Budget speech (also known as ‘Prinsjesdag’), which will be announced next Tuesday.
Naturally, the Dutch cabinet hasn’t yet revealed how the money will be spent, or indeed where. Added to this the fact that this Dutch cabinet is so past its sell-by date that it’s beginning to grow fur, and in its ‘demissionair’ status it can’t announce too large policies, and it is likely that the announcement will fall short of hopes.
One billion euros was announced in the 2019 budget to help build more housing, and the money was then earmarked to be paid to Gemeentes to help build affordable houses that weren’t ‘economically viable’. The Gemeentes are supposed to use the money to, for example, clean up waste ground to make it ready for building.
All projects supported by the 2019 money had to have at least 50 percent of homes at an ‘affordable’ level; with a maximum monthly rent of 1,000 euros. According to the NOS, the 2019 money has already been spent, hence there is now a need to put more money into the pot.
According to the NOS’ statistics, there is a current shortage of about 331,000 properties, and the average house price in the Netherlands is inaccessible for middle and low-income families.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
