One in five Dutch home-owning households is worried about paying the mortgage, and has taken steps to cut spending, according to new research by the national mortgage guarantee scheme NHG.

In total, 2,400 families were questioned for the survey – or 200 in each of the 12 Dutch provinces. It is the first time the NHG has carried out such research and the aim is to “to help spot developments and payment problems early” as a way of supporting mortgage holders, said NHG chairwoman Carla Muters. 

Almost two in five respondents said their income is just enough or not enough to pay all the fixed costs associated with owning a home but there were wide regional differences. 

The problems were most acute in Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland – where the three biggest Dutch cities are located – while fewer households in Utrecht and Drenthe said they faced difficulties, the NHG survey showed.

One in 20 said they had been in arrears at some point and one in 50 said they owed money on their mortgages, but that is seldom more than three months. In the eurozone as a whole, 4.1% of households owe money on their mortgage repayments, the NHG said. 

Despite the low figure in the Netherlands, many people suffer from stress related to the cost of their mortgage and have already adjusted their spending patterns by cutting back on groceries, holidays and leisure-related activities, the NHG survey found.

The NHG protects mortgages on houses worth up to €435,000 by offering financial support or covering the cost of a forced sale if one of the partners dies or is unable to work, or the owners separate.

Some 1.4 million mortgages in the Netherlands fall under the NHG scheme.

According to the IMF house prices in the Netherlands rose the most of all countries in Europe during the pandemic (and have not corrected), while the country has Europe’s highest average mortgage debt.