Call to freeze rent by left-wing political parties during the coronavirus outbreak

The current coronavirus outbreak brings about another big uncertainty besides health concerns, namely the economic aspect. As businesses cut costs, people get laid off and it becomes exceedingly difficult to pay rent as well as cover other basic utilities.

In this context, some political parties consider that not enough is being done at the moment to protect tenants, reports RTL Nieuws. They are therefore proposing to freeze rent in order to allow for greater protection of tenants. Rent freezing involves not allowing rental prices to rise for a period of time.

Debate on freezing rent

PvdA, SP, and GroenLinks are the main political parties backing up the concept of freezing rent, as well as not allowing tenants to be evicted during this period of time.

The House of Representatives will meet tomorrow to debate an emergency law implemented by Minister Stientje van Veldhoven (Environment and Housing), which will allow temporary rental contracts to be extended so that tenants do not risk getting kicked out.

The three political parties mentioned above need to add further amendments to the law and provide even more extensive protection to tenants.

Concerns over loss of income

The primary motivation for the amendments is the concerns that many people who’ve lost their income have. The situation means they are unable to pay rent.

Agreements have already been made by Minister van Veldhoven with housing corporations such as Aedas and investment organizations such as Vastgoed Belang and IVBN, to spare tenants who are in trouble during the coronavirus crisis.

“All housing evictions must be postponed”, iterate MPs Henk Nijboer (PvdA), Sandra Beckerman (SP) and Paul Smeulders (GroenLinks). They’ve also stated that no temporary contract should be cancelled, even in the case that a landowner wishes to demolish his property. And if that is the scenario, the property demolition also needs to be postponed.

Follow DutchReview on Facebook for the latest news on the coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Feature Image: na4ev/Pixabay

Vlad Moca-Grama
Vlad Moca-Grama
Vlad was born and raised in Brasov, Romania and came to the Hague to study. When he isn't spending time missing mountains or complaining about the lack of urban exploration locations in the Netherlands, you can find him writing at Dutch Review.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related posts

Latest posts

Minimum wage in the Netherlands in 2025: The ultimate guide

Knowing what the minimum wage is in the Netherlands and how it works is important for you to know when you start working in the Netherlands.

What are your rights as an international working in the Netherlands? We asked the experts

When moving to a new country, there are a lot of things you may not think about at first — even though they will...

BREAKING: Car and man on fire in middle of Dam Square

Another shocking event has taken place in Dam Square as a car, with its driver inside, caught fire. The police suspect intent. The driver...

It's happening