The cost of renting a place to live in Amsterdam threatens to damage the city’s reputation as an attractive place for international workers and companies, according to Labour councillors.

Amsterdam Labour councillor Ilham Saadi says the city could be on the verge of pricing itself out of the market for international workers unless action is taken to curb high housing costs.

A recent survey showed the high cost of renting a home had a strong impact on Amsterdam’s ranking among the world’s most expensive cities.
The Mercer survey put Amsterdam in 39th place, up from 52nd place in 2013, as high rents boosted the cost of living for internationals .

Exploited

‘Internationals are being taken advantage of and exploited when it comes to renting somewhere to live,’ Saadi said. ‘Not only do they pay too much rent, but they are sometimes charge extortionate agency fees and often don’t get their deposits back.’

Saadi has asked the city council executive to outline what measures they are taking to stop internationals being taken advantage of by landlords and to avoid a further increase in the cost of housing.

According to a DutchNews.nl survey, the supply of affordable housing was the biggest issue facing international workers in the March local elections.
D66 emerged as the biggest party in Amsterdam, with a pledge to develop more rental housing around the €800 a month mark.