Renting in the free sector up sharply, Woonbond wants action | Money

People who concluded a new lease paid an average of €17.18 per month per square meter in the first quarter, compared to €16.11 a year earlier. That is an increase of 6.6%. In previous quarters, the square meter price increased by 3.9 and 1.4%.

According to the Woonbond, the rapid increase is “another signal” that tenants in the free sector must be protected against extortionate prices. The tenants’ club advocates extending the points system for rental homes, which applies to homes up to a rent of €763, to the higher segment. “In this way, apartments that now fall just above that limit are no longer rented out for gigantic prices,” said spokesman Marcel Trip.

In all provinces, average rents in the private sector were higher in the past quarter than a year earlier, Pararius reports. Rents rose sharply by more than ten percent, especially in Flevoland, Gelderland and Friesland. In Drenthe, the increase was most limited, new tenants in Groningen lost on average the same in the past quarter as a year earlier.

Prices also rose in the fifteen largest cities. Pararius recorded the strongest increases in Tilburg, Nijmegen and Eindhoven. With an average square meter price of over €24, Amsterdam is still by far the most expensive city.

Trip: “The real estate sector says year after year that it should not be put in the way so that it will offer more and that it will automatically become affordable. Private providers often concern homes that have been bought up as affordable owner-occupied homes by an investor to rent out at a high price. Nobody is going to live more affordably with that.”

Landlord representatives have long pointed to rising rental property prices and the need to get a return on their investment. They often also have loans outstanding to finance a rental property. Rising inflation is seen as a new driver for rents, because otherwise investors will not be able to recoup their investment.

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