New rules on energy efficiency which will come into force next summer will put up the cost of building a new home by between 11.5% and 16.5%, further pressuring the housing market, the Financieele Dagblad said on Wednesday.

The claim is based on figures from data processing company BDB, which monitors construction costs.

‘This price rise does not include inflation and higher wages, and the impact will be strong,’ Maarten in ‘t Veld from civil engineering group Arcadis, which owns BDB, told the paper.

The new rules, which come on top of the last year’s decision to effectively ban gas connections in new homes, aim to ensure that housing is now as energy-efficient as possible, with minimum use of fossil fuels.

Earlier this month the Dutch real estate agents’ association NVM warned that the price of a new home now averages €391,000 and that first time buyers are finding it impossible to get a foot on the ladder.

Meanwhile, research by Rabobank economists shows that people living in non-rent controlled property find it impossible to save up money to buy a home of their own.

The research showed that people who earn too much for rent-controlled accommodation are becoming trapped in the rental sector because their rent is eating some 36% of their income.

Home owners, by contrast, spend 30% of their income on housing while people in rent controlled properties, who are also eligible for housing benefits, spend 32%.