The Netherlands tried to order in the rental market. Did they succeed?

A certain supervision of house prices is the norm in the Netherlands for decades, as it is in many other European cities and countries from Copenhagen to Berlin. But the Dutch government and some distressed municipalities decided in May 2022 to exacerbate it significantly.

They determined that short -term rental (up to two years) were almost overwhelmed; Anyone who bought a relatively small apartment in Amsterdam had to live in the first four years (an independent step of the city); The volume of price -supervised apartments was dramatic than two -thirds of the market apartments to almost 90% of them, and the unlimited contracts became the new norm.

The government’s idea was to fight the mechanisms that jumped the rental prices in the Netherlands, and especially in the major cities in its center, in a growing lesson. After a long period of discussions, the main part of the law entered July 2024, and this was also the period of time when the media reported “the largest increase in rental prices for three decades” – 5.4% increase in relation to July 2023.

The main casualties: The middle layer is pushed off the market

Nearly a year later, the last data shows that the government initiative has not really solved the problem. Instead, the total increase in lease prices in 2025 is expected to break the previous record and stand at 7.7%, according to the Dutch Central Bank calculations, and there is a huge distress that brings to a black market and a situation where new immigrants to the city simply fail to find an apartment.

According to the testimonies in the Dutch media, the new rules have worsened the situation, creating a situation where apartment rental has become an impossible task of the population. The apartment owners prefer to sell them than to deal with low income, or try to leave them empty until rage or find exercises that will allow them to take an unlimited rent. Apartments are hijacked to ear without moving on apartment rental sites, and those famous receive hundreds of inquiries.

Similar dynamics are recorded in Berlin, for example,Another shot that experienced a positive immigration wave and it is not uncommon to find a queue of dozens of people in the street for a visit to the apartment in wanted neighborhoods. This policy becomes cities like Berlin or Amsterdam a paradise for those who are already in the city with a rented apartment, and hell for those who try to move to it.

“The biggest problem is that of the middle pushed from the market,” he told the news agency Erand Yonkman. “The high layers are too much earning too much to be eligible for public housing, but the middle layer earns too little to afford the prices of the free market.”

Supplement problem: One of the crowded countries in Europe

The main distress is of supply. In the Netherlands, about 60% of the residents hold the apartment, but there is a huge competition for the rental segment for rent. Following green construction considerations, complicated bureaucratic procedures, the reduction of the place – the Netherlands is one of the dense countries in Europe – and also a positive immigration to the country following the “Berkazit” and many other factors, there are not enough apartments to meet the growing supply.

Israelis in the past year that I am immigrated to the Netherlands – which has become a European destination for those looking for a new future, partly because of the English technology and education industry for children – they also encounter this distress.

The price control of the Netherlands is comprehensive. The supporters of it say that it has prevented the market from “lacking unprecedented” in recent years. Each apartment for rent in the Netherlands is ranked by a complex measure of dozens of different parameters, such as space (1 point per square meter), finish level, bedrooms, building age, the nature of the toilet and more.

The grade she receives places her in one of three categories: low, medium and high. Only those whose high -ranking apartment can rent without price, but it is only 10% of the apartments. A permit is rented at supervised prices according to the level. No wonder, therefore, that many apartment owners have “optimized” and have become apartments with an investment that are outside of price control.

The tremendous distress also causes a problem of deficiency between tenants – holding protected contracts and supervised prices – and their housing. Adult or individual couples live in 150 square meters long after the children left home, while young couples with children are pushed to 60 square meters in which they started their real estate as students.

Watch the future: Download interest rates in the euro lump will strengthen buyers

Economic experts, including the Bank’s Bank analysts, estimate that the distress will cause many to purchase apartments, especially following the last interest rate in the Eurozone to 2.5%. This will be reflected in more convenient mortgage prices, and together with the need for residences – will result in the demand for buying.

The laws in the Netherlands, in contrast to the lawsuit against real estate in Germany, for example, do not exceptionally cover those who sell an apartment immediately after buying it, so it is a real possibility. The mortgage payments will replace rental payments, and the Netherlands will gradually become a market owners’ market, as is in other European countries.

Those who will be thrown under the bus, in this case, are those who cannot afford the necessary initial amount, or do not meet the mortgage conditions in terms of future repayments. The public housing in the Netherlands, although part of the planning, does not meet existing needs, and the average waiting time for the apartment today is seven years. Only in this sector is missing about 400,000 apartments in the Netherlands.

One of the unexpected results of the new laws is the preference created by apartment owners for those who come in short term. The new law allows you to rent unregulated prices for a few months of “foreign citizens” or “students” who came for a short period to the Dutch kingdom, with a working visa or study.

As a result, the conscious awareness rate has jumped 50% after applying the law, according to a study of the leading real estate platform in Parius.