Rent increases the highest in over 30 years

© Hollandse Hoogte
Rents for properties in the Netherlands were an average of 5.4 percent higher in July 2024 than in July 2023. That is the largest average rent increase since 1993, when rents rose by the same percentage. In July 2023, rents had risen by an average of 2.0 percent. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on newly released figures.
Rents for social housing set by social sector landlords increased by 5.6 percent, on average. Rents for social housing set by other landlords were slightly higher at 5.7 percent. Rents for private sector housing increased a little less sharply than rents for social housing, rising by an average of 5.0 percent.


In the Netherlands, rent increases are limited by law. The maximum permitted rent increase depends on the type of rental agreement (regulated or liberalised sector) and the tenant’s income. For social housing, rent increases are capped at 5.8 percent (with effect from 1 July 2024). Landlords can also choose to apply rent increases that are related to the tenant’s income.

From 1 January 2024 to 1 January 2025, the maximum rent increase for private sector housing has been set at 5.5 percent.

Higher rent increases for social housing

Approximately two-thirds of rental properties are owned by social sector landlords. Social sector rents increased by 5.6 percent, on average. In July 2023, rent increases set by social sector landlords were much lower, at 0.1 percent on average, due to income-dependent rent reductions (see link below).

In July 2024, rents for social housing set by other landlords rose more sharply than rents set by social sector landlords, which rose by 5.7 percent.

Rents for private sector housing increased by 5.0 percent this year, compared with 4.5 percent in 2023. The net rental price at the beginning of the tenancy agreement determines whether a rental property is part of the private sector.


Rents often rise when new tenants move in

When a new tenant moves into a property, the landlord is allowed to raise the rent by more than the permitted maximum standard rent increase. Rents therefore rise less sharply when changes of tenant are excluded: by 4.7 percent in July 2024. The effect of changes in tenancy was 0.7 percent, which was the same as in 2023.


Highest increases in Rotterdam

The highest average rent increase was seen in the municipality of Rotterdam, where rents rose by 5.9 percent, on average. Changes in tenancy affected the average rent increase in this municipality by 1.0 percent. The biggest impact was measured in Utrecht, where rents increased by 5.8 percent, on average, with new tenancies pushing the average increase up by 1.3 percent. Of the four large municipalities, Amsterdam saw the smallest average rent increase at 5.2 percent.

At the provincial level, rents rose the most sharply in the province of Drenthe, at an average of 5.8 percent when changes in tenancy are taken into account. The effect of changes in tenancy on rents was also high in the province of Noord-Holland. When new tenancies are excluded, rents in Noord-Holland increased less sharply than in Drenthe, resulting in a lower average rate of 5.3 percent.

The smallest rent increase, at 5.0 percent, was seen in the province of Groningen, where the impact of changes in tenancy was 0.4 percent.

Sources

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