Housing Minister Boekholt-O'Sullivan narrows buy-up protection (opkoopbescherming) for homes

Housing Minister Elanor Boekholt-O'Sullivan is adjusting the buy-up protection (opkoopbescherming). Municipalities will in future be able to use it in areas where liveability is under pressure. They must justify why it is needed in particular neighbourhoods.

Why it matters

• Municipalities must explain why buy-up protection is needed in specific neighbourhoods.
• The proposal is that it only applies to homes with a WOZ value (the official property valuation) up to the municipal average.
• A bill is due to go into consultation at the end of this year.

The protection was introduced in 2022. It lets municipalities prevent investors from buying up homes in a neighbourhood to rent them out. About 70 municipalities have used it since then.

The change delivers on an agreement in the coalition agreement and follows a recent evaluation of the scheme. According to the evaluation, its added value lies mainly in preserving liveability, and less in the other goals set when it was introduced. It is not an effective way to improve starters' chances of buying a home in the current market, the evaluation found.

The ministry says rogue renting can now be tackled better under the Wet goed verhuurderschap (the good landlordship act).

The ministry says the protection lets municipalities keep homes available for buyers who will live in them. This group moves less often, which the ministry says can build stronger social ties in a neighbourhood. Residents must also be able to move to a different type of home, for example from renting to buying, the ministry says. If that is possible within the neighbourhood, the social network stays intact.