Almere vacancy tax: empty homes face 2.000 euro yearly bill

The city of Almere is set to be one of the first Dutch municipalities to implement a vacancy tax on homeowners who leave their property vacant for a long time. From 2027, owners of empty homes will have to pay 2.000 euros per year, increasing to 16.000 euros in 2028. 

Vacant homes in Almere to be taxed from 2027

The municipality of Almere has announced that from January 1, 2027, residents who own homes that have been sitting empty for a year or longer will have to pay a vacancy tax of 2.000 euros per home per year. 

The alderman has said that the vacancy tax will likely increase to 16.000 euros in 2028, reports RTL Nieuws. Homeowners to whom the tax will apply will receive a letter so they are aware and can take measures to remedy the situation beforehand. In Almere, around 400 homes are vacant. 

"We are building plenty of new homes, but we must also make full use of existing homes. The fact that 400 homes are standing vacant during a time of housing shortage is sufficient reason to take action. Every home counts," said Almere alderman of housing Paul Tang. 

The Hague was the first Dutch city to announce that it would implement the vacancy tax, expected to come into effect also in 2027. 

Experts question whether Dutch vacancy tax is necessary

Since March 2026, the government has given Dutch municipalities the right to impose a vacancy tax on homeowners with empty properties. This followed a report by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) showing that more than 200.000 homes in the Netherlands were unoccupied, 64.000 of which had been empty for more than a year. 

Director of trade association for private landlords VastgoedBelang, Edward Touw, believes the measure is an overreaction that assumes investors are deliberately sitting on their properties waiting for their value to increase. According to Touw, this is not true. "No real estate investor wants vacancies, because that costs money," he told RTL Nieuws.

There are also various reasons that homes are left empty, from circumstances such as long-term illness or death to waiting for permits for renovations. Touw suggests adjusting the vacancy figures for energy consumption, as this reveals that most “vacant” homes are not actually empty and are occupied by migrant workers or people who forgot to register after moving, for example. 

Professor of urban economics Hans Koster agrees that the vacancy tax is probably not necessary at the moment. "From an international perspective, the vacancy rate in the Netherlands is really very low at about 2,3 percent. Moreover, it usually does not involve investors waiting for value appreciation."

But Koster does think the measure could come in handy later on “if a new phase begins in the housing market and real estate speculation becomes attractive again”, so it is good to have it ready.