Amsterdam is to clamp down hard on social housing tenants who are illegally renting out their homes and is lobbying national government to have illegal subletting potentially made a criminal offence, the Financieele Dagblad said on Wednesday.

Housing alderman Laurens Ivens told the paper in an interview that so many housing corporation tenants are abusing the system that the practice needs to be criminalised so that officials can claw back their profits.

Last month the FD reported that between 10% and 20% of rent controlled properties owned by big housing corporations in Amsterdam may be illegally sublet.

The scale of the fraud is adding to the pressure on the city’s housing stock, where just 3% of corporation housing is freed up for new tenants every year. The waiting list for a rent controlled property, with a rent of less than €720 a month, is now 14 years.

‘This is as anti-social as you can get,’ Ivens, who represents the Socialist Party in the city’s council coalition, told the FD. ‘These people are using community housing to enrich themselves, without fear of the consequences.’

People currently caught illegally subletting their rental housing are rarely taken to court because housing corporations want to avoid expensive legal battles, he said.

MPs are due to debate illegal subletting in the housing committee next week. MPs on all sides of the political spectrum are keen to see home affairs minister Kajsa Ollongren come up with measures to tackle the problem.

Illegal tenancies

Hester van Buren, director of the Rochdale housing corporation, told DutchNews.nl that people should be suspicious that they are being offered an illegal sublet if they are told they cannot register officially at the address.

‘You can always ask the neighbours if the property is owned by a housing corporation,’ she said. ‘If it is, and you are not paying rent directly to the corporation, you are also in an illegal situation.’

Tenants with concerns about their housing situation can approach the Woon foundation, which advises tenants on their rights and has a special section for internationals.