Almost 5,000 rental houses are to be demolished in southern parts of Limburg over the next three years, the provincial authorities have told housing minister Stef Blok.

The demolition will create a €73m tax advantage for housing corporations, which they will invest in new rental properties, Nos television said.

The province hopes an improvement in housing stock will help reverse the population decline in the most southern parts of the Netherlands.

Corporations can get a €15,000 cut in a new tax on rental income for every house they demolish. Blok has set aside €280m to fund demolition projects up to 2017.