Wondering if you’re imagining the ridiculously high rental prices? Nee, you’re not going crazy — rent is increasing more than it has in years.
Based on figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), it’s getting harder to tighten our purse strings as we have been forced to spend an average of 2% more for rent in July 2023.
While this is lower than the average 3% increase felt in July last year, the rental price increase in the private sector is larger than it has been since 2018 at 4.5%, reports RTL Nieuws.
Rent relief for social housing?
If people living in Dutch homes in the private sector are paying a large amount more than what they were last year, how are those who live in social housing faring?
Luckily, residents of social housing that is owned by corporations felt a much smaller increase of just 0.1%. The good news is that almost 70% of rental housing is part of housing associations.
@dutchreview But maybe you’ll hear from their cousin’s son’s dog’s grandfather #fyp #dutchreview #expat #dutch #nederlands #nl #housingmarket ♬ original sound – DutchReview
What about properties that don’t belong to housing associations? Well, residents of social housing under this category aren’t so lucky, with rent increasing by an average of 3.7% since the previous year.
Here’s how rental price increases for July 2023 compared to those in July 2022. 👇
| Type of rental housing | Average rent increase for 2023 | Average rent increase for 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector housing | 4.5% | 3.8% |
| Social housing with housing association | 0.1% | 2.6% |
| Social housing with other landlords | 3.7% | 2.8% |
Big cities mean higher rent
We all know about the insane prices of rent in Amsterdam, so it isn’t surprising that this is the Dutch city with the largest average increase in rent.
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Other large cities such as The Hague, Rotterdam, and Utrecht also experienced substantial increases in rent.
How does the rent compare? Here’s the average rent increases for July 2023. 👇
| Dutch city | Average rent increase |
|---|---|
| Amsterdam | 2.8% |
| The Hague | 2.7% |
| Rotterdam | 2.6% |
| Utrecht | 2.4% |
These increases may seem very high, but they could be worse. In fact, rental houses that saw a change in tenants in 2023 saw an average rent increase of a whopping 10.9%, compared to a 9.7% increase in 2022.
This is the highest increase for this category since 2014. Echt niet leuk! Looks like we’re all going to stay in one rental for as long as possible. 👀
Have you felt the effect of rent increases? Tell us in the comments!