If you, like thousands of other Dutch residents, have been tearing your hair out over high rent prices and never-ending inflation, this measure may just be the thing to solve some of your problems! 😫
The Dutch government has put plans in place to help ease the rising pressure of rents for residents starting in 2023. How? By setting a maximum percentage that the rents can rise by, reports the NOS.
How does the rent cap work?
In the past, the Dutch government has used rent caps to help citizens in times of financial struggle, such as during the pandemic. As a result of the maximum increases, rents rose by the smallest amount since 1960 in July 2021.
Before, landlords in the free sector, aka with property rented out at over €763 a month, could increase rents without restriction.
READ MORE | Unbe-live-able: The Netherlands faces its highest rent increase ever since 2014
With this new law, landlords will be confined to a new law that will take into account the tenant’s wage development.
With the new law, rather than rent increases being dependent on inflation rates, they will instead be dependent on a tenant’s wage increases for the year — meaning that rising inflation doesn’t necessarily mean rising rent anymore!
The 1% rule
A law that is already in legislation is the 1% rule, which means that regardless of whether rents increase based on inflation or wage figures, an extra 1% will be added to the cost of the rent.
For example, in 2022, tenants had to cover a 3.3% maximum increase in rent prices — 2.3% of which was based on inflation rates, with an extra 1% added on the top.
If tenants feel they are being charged more than this extra 3.3%, they can start a dispute with their landlord via the Rent Tribunal.
The Dutch government will the exact details of the wage development in December, but this new law will affect a grand total of 648,000 homes. Over half a million people!
READ MORE | BREAKING: Dutch cabinet hoping to implement a cap on free-market rent
Perhaps now we might be able to afford that avocado toast and extra fancy coffee at Starbucks? 👀
What do you think of the maximum rent cap? Tell us your thoughts in a comment below! 👇
Already this year the rent is very high and crazy request so people who have bought a new house for renting they already started with high price I think in this law they need to add min rental charges fixed based on the house area so that people so not charge high and next year with the increase as per law now 2 bedroom apartment is not less than 1600 euro in major cities and seen upto 2000 euro
Dutch people did not experience communism, so they dont know that this law will only lead to lack of living opportunities and housing crise. Living in Amsterdam is not human right!