Published July 30, 2026
When the Jetten cabinet took office on 23 February 2026, housing was already at the top of the national agenda. The government is a three-party minority coalition of D66, VVD, and CDA, led by Prime Minister Rob Jetten. Elanor Boekholt-O'Sullivan (D66) serves as Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning, with a stated target of 100,000 new homes built per year. The approach has two tracks: accelerating construction on the supply side, and making targeted adjustments to rental regulation. For international residents navigating a tight market and an evolving legal framework, here is what is actually changing and what it means for your situation.
The government is committing over €1 billion annually to housing construction, supported by a dedicated Taskforce for Housing Acceleration (Taskforce Versnelling Woningbouw). The main initiatives include expanding the number of priority housing development zones from 21 to 30, with a focus on transit-connected urban areas and satellite towns. Alongside that, the government is streamlining municipal permitting to enable faster, factory-built housing, and easing restrictions on converting commercial buildings into apartments or splitting larger homes into separate units.
The honest expectation: new construction takes years to deliver. These measures are designed to reverse a supply deficit that has been building for some time, particularly across the Randstad and Brainport Eindhoven regions, but the effect on competition for viewings will be gradual rather than immediate.
The strict rent caps introduced in 2024 protected tenants but also prompted a significant wave of private landlords selling off rental properties (uitponding), reducing the supply of private lets. To slow that trend, the government has announced several revisions to the existing framework.
Developers launching residential projects before 2032 can apply a 10% rental markup for up to 20 years. This is intended to preserve the financial case for building new rental homes.
The cap on how much weight a property's municipal valuation (WOZ-waarde) can carry in the points-based rent calculation (WWS) is being removed. In practice, this means that centrally located apartments in Amsterdam, Utrecht, or The Hague can now score more points under the system, potentially pushing them into the unregulated private sector where no rent cap applies.
Properties without a private balcony or garden will no longer receive negative points in the valuation, and listed national monuments (Rijksmonumenten) will receive additional points to account for their higher maintenance costs.
What this means if you are actively searching: centrally located apartments without outdoor space may sit at somewhat higher price points than under the previous rules. The broader intention is to keep more private rental properties on the market rather than being sold, which would mean more listings available.
Annual rent increases are capped by law regardless of the above changes. Which cap applies to your home depends on where your property sits in the points system.
Social housing and student rooms (up to 143 WWS points): maximum 4.1%, applicable from 1 July 2026. This is based on the three-year average inflation rate plus 0.5%.
Mid-market rent / middenhuur (144 to 186 points): maximum 6.1% from 1 January 2026. Based on CAO wage growth plus 1%.
Private sector / vrije sector (187 points and above): maximum 4.4% from 1 January 2026. Based on inflation plus 1%.
These caps apply to existing tenants. The WOZ adjustments described above cannot be used to raise your rent beyond the applicable statutory limit. If your contract specifies a higher percentage, the legal maximum takes precedence.
The government has set binding deadlines for landlords on energy performance. From 2029, properties with energy labels E, F, or G will no longer be permitted in the rental market unless they have been retrofitted to meet minimum standards. By 2040, the requirement rises to label C or higher.
When evaluating a property, an energy label of A or B is worth factoring in beyond just monthly utility costs. Properties with poor labels face a compliance deadline that landlords will need to act on, and that uncertainty can affect tenancy security and investment decisions.
The cabinet's plans reflect a genuine attempt to balance tenant protections with the need to keep private landlords in the market. The short version for renters: existing tenant protections remain in place, the rent increase caps are confirmed for 2026, and new listings in central urban locations may gradually reflect the looser WWS rules.
As a practical matter, having your application documents ready, including proof of income and an employment contract, remains important. The market is still tight in most major cities, and well-priced properties still move quickly. In cities with acute shortages, satellite towns with good rail connections to Amsterdam, Utrecht, or Eindhoven are worth including in your search.
If you've been looking for a home in the Netherlands lately, the tightness isn't in your head. Viewings are hard to land, and anything decent in a popular area tends to disappear within a day or two of going live.
For many expats, the Netherlands promises a world-class economy, an enviable quality of life, and one of Europe's most frustrating housing markets. If you've started searching for a rental home, you've likely already felt the pressure: listings disappear within days, income requirements feel impossibly high, and the words "housing crisis" keep coming up in every conversation. The crisis is real — but it's also navigable once you understand what's driving it. At Pararius, we track the Dutch rental market quarter by quarter, and the picture in 2026 is clear: supply is shrinking, rents are rising, and competition is fierce. Here's what you need to know, and what you can do about it.