Most new homes will be built in the province of South Holland (235,460) in the next eight years, while Drenthe has the least (13,631). Minister De Jonge for Housing and Spatial Planning announced this afternoon the results of the first agreements with the provinces for the construction of 900,000 new homes.

This makes it clear how many new apartments each federal state will build up to and including 2030. Now it’s all about the numbers, in a few months it will also be known in which places in the province these houses will be built.

More grip

De Jonge sees the agreements with the provinces as a big step. Because of the housing shortage, the government wants more control over the housing market. In recent years, the housing market has been mainly in the hands of the free market, which has resulted in relatively much more expensive housing being realized and less affordable houses and apartments being delivered.

Construction projects are also often bogged down in complex and lengthy discussions between provinces and municipalities about which houses to build in which locations. And local residents regularly protest to the State Council because they don’t like a new residential area nearby.

‘shoulder to shoulder’

The government therefore wants more control over the housing market and therefore wants to make more concrete agreements with those involved. De Jonge aims to build 900,000 new homes by 2030. “This will require a concerted effort – shoulder to shoulder – from governments, businesses and market parties,” he writes.

It was also found that two out of every three new homes are “affordable”. For homes, this applies to prices up to 355,000 euros. For social housing, a rent of up to approx. 760 euros is considered affordable. Rental apartments in the free sector are considered affordable if the tenant has to pay a maximum of 1,000 euros per month.

Check here how many new houses the provinces want to build

The figures from the provinces still raise many questions. Are there so-called “hard” or “soft” construction capacities? Tough construction contracts have already been approved by the city council and the building plot has been prepared. This is not the case with Soft Building Capacity, and all sorts of obstacles can still stand in the way.

According to De Jonge, the agreements mean something. “It is more than an intention, because the federal states have signed it and it has also been checked whether the proposed construction plans are realistic.”

headwind

In addition, project developers are faced with high construction costs due to inflation and the shortage of personnel in the construction sector. Due to the nitrogen problem, there is also a risk that a ban on new construction will be imposed in some nature-sensitive locations. De Jonge speaks of a headwind that was not there when the cabinet was presented in January. “It’s more stubborn and that’s why we have to pedal harder and not dismount,” says de Jonge, referring to his favorite pastime, cycling.

construction sites

By December of this year, De Jonge wants to have the current agreements set out in so-called regional housing deals, which also state the exact construction sites in each province and what part of them relates to affordable housing.

The cabinet has earmarked a further 11 billion euros for the rapid construction of 900,000 new apartments.

Before that we made this video about the blueprints:

Aedes, the umbrella organization of housing companies, is positive about De Jonge’s approach, but calls the elaboration in specific building sites the “litmus test”. Aedes chairman Van Rijn is concerned about the construction of social rental housing in the foreseeable future. Residential construction projects that have already started have hardly been adapted to create affordable housing, Van Rijn notes.