The Dutch housing shortage still has no end in sight, with the Own House Association (Vereniging Eigen Huis) now calling for change, with a petition pushing for more affordable and accessible housing.
Some plans are already in the making at the Dutch Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning, with Minister Hugo de Jonge aiming to build 900,000 new houses over the next eight years.
Yet for now, only two-thirds of De Jonge’s fresh project has to be “affordable” houses, which according to the Ministry, means each house should cost a maximum of €355,000.
That’s not good enough for the Own House Association, which is concerned that the annual income requirement of €76,000 (which one would typically need to afford a €355,000 house) is unrealistic for young people.
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Accordingly, the Home Ownership Association is now pushing De Jonge to limit the cost per house to €260,000.
With this price, buying a house is at least somewhat feasible for young people who are just starting out in this (dreadful) housing market.
Petition at work
The Own House Association’s petition calls on De Jonge to ensure more affordable housing for young starters.
It also requests 10,000 new affordable homes to be built every year, to help deal with the intense housing shortage here in the Lowlands.
At the same time, it’s important to the association that the new houses hold certain standards.
After all, nobody wants to live in a house that looks and feels like a container (*cough* student housing *cough*), so it’s key that cheap (ish) houses still fill their function as a place one can feel safe, happy, and at home.
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