Minister of Construction!

The City of Rotterdam is also introducing a self-housing obligation for buyers of housing in the city. This obligation – in the form of a rental ban, a resale ban and/or a speculation ban – is very limited. It only applies to residences on municipal land or to municipal real estate that is transformed into a dwelling. In this way, the municipality offers more space to starters on the housing market. Start-ups are now sometimes surpassed by private investors who subsequently rent out the purchased homes.

The Rotterdam measure is more limited in scope than in many other municipalities, because research shows that the negative influence of private investors is not at all as great as is often assumed, says the municipality. The research was carried out by the Land Registry in the first half of 2020 in the cities of Rotterdam, Maastricht and Utrecht. Investors are often wrongly portrayed as house milkers pushing up prices, it turns out. The total shortage of housing is the main cause of the rapid price rises, the research shows. Rotterdam alderman Bas Kurvers also points out that private landlords play an important role in the city because they provide rental housing for people who want to live flexibly.

Other research also shows that private investors are not only interested in a fair return, but also in a stable relationship with the tenants. In addition, they can provide what governments and corporations are currently unable to do: rapid access to the housing market, without years of waiting times. And that’s worth something, in a time of 661,500 house hunters.

The city of Rotterdam does not leave it at regulation, but is also committed to stimulation. Soon, for example, they will be starting up a start-up loan again. But Rotterdam is also in a hurry with the only thing that really helps: building on a large scale! Let our regional administrators have a look at it! The call for a national approach is now louder and louder. The trade union is now also arguing for a ‘Minister of Construction’ to prevent construction workers from losing their jobs in the short term and then being lost to the sector forever. While huge challenges await in the area of new construction and sustainability!