Ministers should withdraw plans to increase rent, students say
Amsterdam student union Asva and its Utrecht counterpart, Vidius, believes a plan by housing minister Stef Blok will make it harder for students to find an apartment after graduation and have asked for him to withdraw a plan that allows landlords to ask up to a 150 euros higher rent for new build apartments.
Rental rates in the Netherlands below approximately 700 euros are considered to be a part of the social housing sector and are set according to a point system. These are calculated according to certain characteristics of the building such as square meterage and whether it has an independent kitchen or sanitation facilities.
Dutch housing minister Stef Blok, member of the right wing VVD-party, wants to allow owners of newly built apartments in Amsterdam and Utrecht to ask up to 150 euros rent more starting October 1. The fact that the apartment is newly built will allow for a higher attribution of points, allowing for a higher rent.
The measure is intended to motivate investors to build more houses, helping students to move from a dorm into a new apartment more easily and free up space for freshmen. This measure is designed to help counter the scarcity for student housing in both Amsterdam and Utrecht. The average room for a student in Amsterdam is 18 square meters and costs 448 euros per month according to the city’s statistics bureau. (Students that apply for a room have to compete with 37 other students on average.)
Pressure
According to Asva and Vidius, however the minister’s plans would only make things worse. Since the newly built houses will be more expensive, it will be harder for students to move to a new place after graduation they contend. ‘Housing projects that were intended for students will now be out of reach. The pressure on the housing market will only increase,’ Vidius-chairman Thomas van Gemert says.
Blok’s proposal has also faced criticism in the Amsterdam city council. Left wing parties SP, GroenLinks and PvdA believe rents will increase across the board. ‘When a thirty square meter apartment costs 800 euros, the rent of a fifty square meter apartment will increase as well,’ a socialist city councillor said.
