Dutch Cabinet Plans to Ease Rent Controls, Allowing Rents to Rise in the Mid-Market Sector
Less than two years after the Affordable Rent Act was introduced, the Jetten cabinet is planning to loosen its rules, allowing higher rents in the mid-market segment to keep investors from selling up.
The Dutch cabinet is preparing to amend the Affordable Rent Act (Wet betaalbare huur), which has capped mid-market rents using a points-based valuation system since July 2024. Housing minister Elanor Boekholt-O'Sullivan of D66 has announced she will send parliament a letter around 20 April setting out the planned changes. A majority in the lower house has already voted against waiting for the law's formal evaluation before those changes are made.
Rentals in the Netherlands
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What the Affordable Rent Act does
The Affordable Rent Act introduced price regulation to the segment between social housing and the deregulated private market. Properties are assessed using the Housing Valuation System (Woningwaarderingsstelsel, or WWS), a points system that determines the maximum rent a landlord may charge based on factors including floor space, energy label, WOZ property value and amenities. Since 1 January 2026, new contracts in the regulated mid-market segment must fall between €932.93 and €1,228.07 per month and score between 144 and 186 WWS points. Properties above the liberalisation threshold of 186 points fall into the deregulated private sector, where landlords can set their own rents.
What the cabinet wants to change
The planned changes include three main adjustments. First, a WOZ surcharge: at the start of a new contract, landlords would be allowed to charge the maximum rent based on the property's original points total before the WOZ cap is applied, effectively allowing higher rents on high-value urban properties. Second, higher rents for small listed buildings, which would receive extra room in the points system. Third, abolition of the five deduction points currently applied to properties without outdoor space such as a balcony or garden, a rule that disproportionately penalises urban apartments.
The government has assessed that the WOZ surcharge could push rents on affected properties up by around €100 per month, with most reaching a maximum of around €1,200 and some reaching up to €1,300. The government says these prices remain affordable for the middle-income households they are aimed at, according to budget institute Nibud's norms.
Why the cabinet says it is necessary
The argument for loosening the rules is that the Affordable Rent Act has caused a wave of private landlords selling up their properties. Since the law was introduced in July 2024, many private investors have sold their mid-market rental properties. The market has shrunk significantly as a result. The minister says changes are needed to stop the haemorrhaging of mid-market supply and to keep investment in new rental homes viable.
The parliamentary majority vote
The lower house voted this week against a motion by PRO (GroenLinks-PvdA) MP Habtamu de Hoop calling on the minister to wait for the law's evaluation before making changes. The Woonbond, the main tenants' organisation in the Netherlands, said the vote "throws rent protection overboard" and benefits commercial landlords looking to increase returns.
The Affordable Rent Act was introduced in July 2024 precisely to stop excessive rents in the mid-market. Less than eighteen months after its introduction, the minister wants to make changes, even though an evaluation had been promised before any amendments were made.
What this means for tenants
The changes would primarily affect new contracts, not existing tenants. Landlords cannot raise rents on current contracts beyond the legally set annual maximum, which in 2026 is 6.1 percent for mid-market properties and 4.4 percent for the deregulated private sector. However, when a property becomes vacant and a new contract is signed, the higher permissible rent under the amended rules would apply immediately.
For tenants in the private sector, the context is already difficult. Rents in the private sector rose by 7.3 percent in the first quarter of 2026, with more than 42 percent of all available private rental properties now priced above €2,000 per month. Nearly 1,900 more rental homes left the market than entered it during the quarter.
