New affordable rent law

The House of Representatives approved the Affordable Rent Act on April 25, 2024. If the Senate also agrees, many landlords will have to lower rents and adjust them to comply with the new rules.

Purpose
Finding affordable rental housing is difficult. Rents are rising, especially in cities. Minister Hugo de Jonge's law should make the rental market fairer and better align prices with housing quality.

Main changes

• Rental prices of low and medium rental housing will be capped according to the housing rating system (WWS).
• Annual rent increases will be limited to collective wage increase plus 1%.
• Rent protection increases to 186 WWS points (about €1,100), increasing the number of regulated homes.
• Energy labels more strongly influence maximum rent.

Follow-up
The law ensures affordable mid-rent housing and prevents overpricing of substandard housing. Municipalities monitor and enforce compliance. Landlords must be more transparent about the quality and rent of their homes. The law could lead to an average of €190 lower rent per month for 300,000 homes. Entry into force is scheduled for July 1, 2024.

This may result for landlords in:

• Lower income and possibly lower returns; consider updating financial planning in a timely manner to clearly identify the impact.
• Transparency about home quality and energy labels will become mandatory and may impose additional administrative burdens.