Highest rent increase in 30 years coming! Take action! 

With the rent increase policy, politicians are sending a clear signal: they still expect tenants to pay for solving the housing crisis, making the housing stock more sustainable and solving overdue maintenance and broad mold and moisture problems out of their own pocket. To tackle the housing crisis, the government must structurally invest in public housing instead of unilaterally passing the bill on to the tenants! 

Time for action! Join the fight for a multi-year rent freeze and refuse the rent increase!

Why you should also refuse the rent increase

1. Policy of infinite rent increase on rent increases has led to unaffordable rents for large groups of tenants. A quarter of the tenants cannot make ends meet financially after paying the rent. This concerns more than 800,000 people!
2. Tenants are saddled with a rent increase every year, but stay at the back of homes with overdue maintenance, moisture or mold and often see for years no improvement whatsoever of services or living pleasurewhile costs continue to rise.
3. Rents are rising faster than wages. Rents have increased since 1990 141%. Inflation increased during that period 87% and the average increase in collective labor agreement wages remained stagnant 93%! 
4. The percentage of our income that we pay for housing (the housing ratio) is between 36 and 38% average highest among tenants and far above the Nibud standard maximum 30% per household. More than 58% of tenants pay more than 40% in housing costs. A multi-year rent freeze of at least 5 years is the solution!
5. By linking the rent increase to: the increase in the average Collective labor agreement wages stays structural tax relief and it becomes growing poverty problem not addressed. Working tenants see any increase in income disappear into the pockets of their landlords.
6. The burden of the housing crisis is being placed on the most vulnerable households, while structural investments in public housing by the government have been lacking for years. 
7. For years, tenants have paid billions to the state treasury through the Landlord Tax. By abolishing this levy in 2023, every housing association will have a lot of extra money left over to compensate tenants through a multi-year rent freeze!
8. While corporations do not make a profit, they do have to pay profit tax. On average, almost one month's rent in profit tax (corporate tax) still goes to the treasury for each social housing home every year.
9. Organizations such as Aedes and the Woonbond, which claim to represent the voice and interests of tenants, facilitate the policy of infinite rent increases by signing up for rent increases every year in the National Performance Agreements. Time to take action and stand up for our interests and to demand control and security!
10. Due to policy efforts aimed at limiting social rent, aimed at greater market forces in the rental sector, rents have risen extremely. Private landlords and institutional investors achieved enormous returns and large profits through, among other things, (too) high initial rents, rent increases during changes, purchasing and liberalization of (social) housing, calculating the WOZ value in the rent, housing speculation and through annual rent increases.

Collective struggle for rent freeze

The action campaign Wij Weigeren de Huurverhoging fights for multi-year rent freeze on the basis of a simple roadmap which allows tenants to refuse the upcoming rent increase en masse. By collectively carrying out the action, tenants send a signal that the empty promises regarding social security must end. Let the government tackle the housing crisis with structural investments in public housing instead of burdening the tenants themselves!

We also encourage tenants to organize themselves solidarity networks and we give them the tools to take a collective stand. This requires an active commitment from tenants to, in addition to individually refusing the rent increase, also actively contribute to the broader housing struggle by setting up or supporting a local solidarity network, organizing your neighbors or fellow tenants and communicating our demand for a multi-year rent freeze. on social media and in the (local) media or politics.

Take action!

Do you live in a social rental home or in a non-self-contained living space (rooms)? 

Are you already barely able to afford the rent, while your landlord is making off with a large part of your income? Has your landlord not done any maintenance for years, but are you allowed to pay more every year for reduced living enjoyment?

Register now for the 2024 refusal action to refuse the rent increase based on our step-by-step plan and join the broader housing battle! Together we fight for a multi-year rent freeze!  

Sources

1. Nibud (2019), Nibud sounds the alarm: a quarter of tenants are financially strapped https://www.nibud.nl/nieuws/nibud-luidt-noodklok-kwart-van-de-huurders-zit-financieel-klem/
2. CBS (2023), Consumer Prices; rent increase for homes from 1959 https://opendata.cbs.nl/#/CBS/nl/dataset/70675ned/table?ts=1705160758724 
3. CBS (2023), Annual change in consumer price index; from 1963 https://opendata.cbs.nl/#/CBS/nl/dataset/70936ned/table?ts=1705160804827
4. CBS (2023), Collective labor agreement wages, contractual wage costs and working hours https://opendata.cbs.nl/#/CBS/nl/dataset/85663NED/table?searchKeywords=stijging%20cao%20lonen
5. Aedes (2023), Profit tax on corporations rises to € 1.5 billion per year https://aedes.nl/financieel-stelsel/aedes-winstbelasting-corporaties-loopt-op-naar-eu-15-miljard-jaar#
6. Watermill.nls (2024), Maintenance costs deductible for real estate? https://watermill.nl/blog/vastgoed/onderhoudskosten-aftrekbaar-bij-vastgoed/
7. Rijksoverheid/nl (2024). Which costs are for the tenant, and which for the landlord.https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/woning-huren/vraag-en-antwoord/welke-kosten-zijn-voor-de-huurder-en-welke-voor-de-verhuurder