The housing shortage is not because of refugees, but because of VVD – Joop

“Of the vacated housing association homes, 3 percent (nearly 5 thousand homes) were allocated to status holders who either obtained a residence permit in 2021 or lived with a residence permit previously obtained at the beginning of that year at one of the Central Agency's reception sites. To receive asylum seekers (COA). Municipalities are responsible for the initial housing of residency holders. In addition, 3% of housing associations are allocated to status holders who have had a residence permit for more than one year and are no longer living in the COA reception site.“

Around the year 2000, there was no shortage of housing in the Netherlands. The deficit was 1.4%, or less than 100,000 homes, Follow The Money wrote last week. There are now 437,000 homes, too few. Things went wrong especially after 2014, partly due to the closure of nursing homes and the introduction of the landlord tax.

The landlord tax ensures that far fewer affordable homes are built. Follow the money:This tax measure came from Steve Blok (VVD), Minister of Housing in Rutte's second government (2012-2017), and was applied to every owner of more than fifty rental properties in the social rental sector. As a result, the companies had to pay together about 1.5 billion euros annually. This led to rents being raised, properties being sold, and construction plans being cancelled. Immediately after the tax was announced in 2013, every project that could still be stopped was immediately terminated.“