Almost all rents go up on the 1st of July every year. This is not the case this year. The House of Representatives has passed a motion from the political party SP to freeze rents. This means that the maximum rent increase percentage has been set at 0% for the regulated rental sector.
For tenants of housing corporations and tenants of private landlords, rents will therefore remain the same as last year. The rent increase is also fixed at 0% for rooms and caravans. The decision saves tenants about 6 euros net per month on average. The cost of the decision is estimated at approximately 200 million euros. The government wants to use that money to help landlords, among other things.
There are a number of exceptions to the decision. In those cases it is possible that the rent will still go up.
The first exception is with a recent renovation or home improvement. If you have been given more comfort and have agreed with the landlord that there is a rent increase in return, then that increase will continue as usual. It must be a jointly agreed increase, not an increase imposed unilaterally by the landlord.
The second exception is with a liberalized lease. If your basic rent was higher than the liberalization limit at the start of the contract, the rules for maximum rent increase do not apply. The liberalization limit in 2021 is € 752,33. In 2020 it was € 737,14 and in 2019 it was € 720,42.
