Social housing lobby group Woonbond is planning to go to court in an effort to overturn what it says are illegal rent rises for hundreds of thousands of people living in rent-controlled housing.

People with an income of more than some €35,000 are considered to be earning too much to live in social housing and since 2013, landlords have been able to put up their rents by more than the rate of the inflation.

Landlords – both housing corporations and private owners – were able to consult the tax office to find out which income band their tenants fell into.

At the beginning of this year, the Council of State – the highest Dutch administrative court – ruled that this access conflicted with privacy regulations. Now Woonbond says it is going to court to have the rent increases handed down to high-earning tenants overturned.

Settlement

It says efforts to get a settlement with the housing corporations and private landlords’ associations have failed and a court case is the only alternative. The total bill could run to €365m, Woonbond says.

Earlier this year, the housing ministry published research showing around 50% of social housing tenants were faced with a rent rise above the rate of inflation over the past three years – meaning they earn more than the limit.