The average mid-market rental property coming on the market in Amsterdam has 450 potential tenants and fewer and fewer empty homes are available for rent, the Parool reported on Wednesday.

Figures from rental platforms such as Pararius show the pressure on apartments with a rent between the social housing limit of €880 and €1162 has increased enormously, the paper said. The number of available properties has gone down by 20% while demand is up over 25%.

Mid-market rentals, which are rent-controlled but have no income requirements, are online for an average of just seven days in the big cities. Properties that cost more than €1162 and fall outside the rent control system are online for 22 days on average before finding a new tenant.

“The shortage in the mid-market sector and the enormous demand are becoming increasingly visible,” said Pararius chief executive Jasper de Groot. There is, he says, a direct link between the mounting shortage of homes and new legislation introduced in July which expanded the rent control system and is leading landlords to sell up instead.

“In theory, the government said, more rent controls should lead to more choice for people looking for a mid-market rental,” he said. “But the developments in supply and demand show the opposite effect of what was promised.”

Housing minister Mona Keijzer has promised that the new rules will be evaluated early next year.

On Wednesday morning there were just four apartments on the Pararius website with a rent of between €900 and €1,200 a month, and 763 for more than €1200.