New documents leaked to the NOS have shown that the Dutch government plans to invest one billion euros to accelerate housing construction in the Netherlands. 

Dutch government faces mounting pressure to tackle housing crisis

The Netherlands is facing a growing housing crisis: with a severe shortage of affordable housing, the Dutch housing market has become increasingly inaccessible to buyers and prices continue to rise at an alarming rate. The government has faced significant criticism for allowing the situation to reach this point, but new information has revealed the cabinet is looking for ways to combat the issue. 

With Prinsjesdag - the day the cabinet announces the budget for 2022 - right around the corner, sources in The Hague have confirmed to the NOS that the cabinet will allocate one billion euros to speed up the development of housing in the Netherlands. 

Billion-euro investment for affordable housing in the Netherlands

This is not the first time the government has taken action in an attempt to provide more affordable housing; in 2019, one billion euros were put into the government’s so-called woningbouwimpuls fund (“residential building impulse”). That cash was used by municipalities to invest in non-financially-motivated projects that would make existing development plans more feasible, for example by establishing new / better connections to public transport, or reclaiming and repurposing land for housing development.

Rules set out by the government dictate that, in all projects the fund is used for, at least 50 percent of the housing must be affordable (for example, social housing or rental properties with a maximum rent of 1.000 euros). Dozens of municipalities have made use of the woningbouwimpuls over the past few years, and as the fund runs dry, the government has decided to invest more into affordable housing projects.

It is estimated that the Netherlands has a shortage of around 331.000 homes, and this year the government has faced mounting pressure from politicians and members of the public alike to take action. While the fund will come in useful, the cabinet doesn’t plan to announce any extensive plans to tackle the crisis.