In the Netherlands, a lot of people make use of social housing. Due to high house prices in the Netherlands, social rental homes are the only option for affordable housing. In this article, we will explain this type of housing in more detail. we are going to discuss what social housing is, how to apply for it, and the pros and cons of this type of housing. After reading this article, you will have find out if this type of housing is something for you.
What are social rental houses?
The first housing type on this blog that we are going to discuss is social rental housing. As previously mentioned in the blog “introduction to Dutch Home Guide”, rents for social housing are regulated by the government. They determine what the maximum monthly rent can. The maximum rent increases by a few percent per year. For the year 2022, the maximum rent has been set at €763.47 basic rent. Additional costs such as service costs may be added to this. An overview of the price increases over the last couple of years is displayed in the image down below.
The fact that the maximum rent for social housing has been set at €763.47 does not automatically mean that every social rental home costs this amount. This amount can also be much lower. To ensure that there is sufficient social housing, housing corporations have been set up. A housing corporation is an organization that focuses on building, renting out, and maintaining homes. These homes have affordable rent and are intended for people with a low income. They are obliged to assess the quality of their houses by using a so-called points system. Based on how many points a house scores, it is determined what the final rent will be. In this way, rents can fluctuate between €400 and €763,47. You can look into this on the offer page of Woonnet Rijnmond.
How to apply for social housing
To be eligible for social housing, you cannot earn too much money. The income set by the government is a maximum annual salary of €40,765 for a single-person household. For a multi-person household, this is €45,014. Do you earn more than this in a year? Then you are not eligible for social housing.
However, it is allowed for housing associations to also rent out homes to people with a higher income. According to the law, they are free to decide on 15% of the houses to which they offer them to. For example, WoningNet Utrecht also rents out to people with a middle income of up to €52,147.
If you meet the conditions, you are eligible for social housing. You can then register with one of the housing corporations in the Netherlands. Five years ago, I registered myself at Woonnet Rijnmond. This is a housing corporation for the Rotterdam region. When you have built up sufficient waiting time, you can get a social rental home. How this exactly works, I have discussed in my previous blog.
The benefits
The advantage of social housing is that you can rent a house for a reasonably low price. Also, the housing corporation is responsible for the maintenance of the house. So, is there something broken? Then they are the ones responsible to fix it. You are also protected against high rent increases. It is regulated by the government what the maximum increase of the rent can be. For the 1st of July 2022, it is determined that the rent can increase by a maximum of 2,3% on the original renting price.
In the free sector, a topic that we are going to discuss in a future article, the maximum allowed increase is much higher. They are allowed to increase the renting prices by a maximum of 3,3%. Often landlords opt to increase their prices at the maximum rate. Luckily, with social housing, this is often not the case. In my personal situation, my housing corporation Maasdelta was allowed to increase the price of my house by 2,3%. But they opt to only increase it by 1%. Which only increases my rent by approximately €6.
The downsides of social housing
The disadvantage of social housing is that the waiting times are very long before you can get one. The average waiting time in the Netherlands is now more than seven years. As a result, it is very difficult for young adults to obtain a home in this housing sector. Because, when they have finished their education, they usually only gathered four or five years of waiting time. Which is not enough. This is because when they start working full-time, they often earn too much and are therefore no longer eligible for social housing.
Is social housing something for you?
Social housing is a great form of affordable housing. It is regulated by the government and social housing corporations. This gives tenants a lot of security. The only downside is that you have to wait many years before you can apply for a house. Unfortunately, not everybody can wait that long and is therefore forced to move into a way too expensive and often very little apartment in the private sector. Do you want to find out more about housing in the Netherlands? Then read more about the other “types of housing in the Netherlands” in my previous blog post
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