Small private landlords continue to sell off houses in the wake of government legislation to expand rent controls, increase taxes and eliminate short-term contracts, according to new figures from Kadaster land registry office.

The figures, which do not include landlords with two properties, show the number of homes owned by small private landlords fell by 18,000 in 2024.

Private individuals with one other property are also more likely to sell them, although the agency said it did not know if they had been rented out or used as a pied-à-terre prior to the sale.

However, earlier research by the national statistics agency CBS suggests 70% of second homes are rented out, indicating a further 2,500 homes had been removed from the rental market.

Commercial landlords, such Vesteda and Bouwinvest, also sold more homes to people planning to live in them or to other investors but built more new units, expanding their total supply by 15,000 properties.

Trends

“You can clearly see an increase in sales,” Kadaster researcher Lianne Hans told broadcaster NOS. “And landlords are also buying hardly any single units. This is also partly a correction on earlier years, when investors bought up a lot of private property to rent out.”

A relatively large number of rental homes have reverted to the owner-occupier sector in city centres, she said.

Housing minister Mona Keijzer has described the figures as worrying. “In times of a housing shortage, the supply of affordable rental housing must increase,” she told NOS. “I want to prevent this trend from continuing and a shortage of affordable rentals.”

The minister said she is now looking into giving private landlords more flexibility and ensuring “affordable housing remains profitable for private investors.” She will brief parliament on her ideas at the end of March.

Vastgoed Belang, the lobby group for smaller private landlords, has called for changes in the law, urging the minister to intervene immediately. It says that between 2022 and 2024, 97,350 rental homes have been removed from the market and that most are likely to be social or affordable housing.

Stability

However, large investors have urged the minister not to alter the legislation. They told the Financieele Dagblad earlier this week that stability is needed to encourage more private domestic and international investment in rental housing.

Most of those benefiting from the increase in small apartment sales are first-time buyers, the Kadaster said. In the previous quarter, 65% of sales were to starters, who paid an average of €344,000 for a home.