Swedish real estate investor Heimstaden wants to sell 12,000 out of 13,500 rental properties in the Netherlands. The reason is the new government policy to further regulate rental prices. This would make rent less attractive to the company.
Heimstaden confirms this news after it was reported real estate market Thursday afternoon. Initially, the company, which has owned homes in the Netherlands since 2018, wants to sell approximately 2,500 homes in the next two years. The remaining homes will be sold as they become available once the tenant terminates the agreement.
A company spokesperson confirmed: “In the coming years, we want to sell the majority of our homes in the Netherlands due to the changing economic and political situation.” With the sale, Heimstaden wants to keep the company “financially strong and protected from unpredictable political policies.” Accumulated interest also plays a role in the decision.
Heimstaden does not want to leave the Netherlands entirely. “We want to expand our housing supply in the Netherlands. We will only consider homes in a different category to the current category,” says the spokesman.
“The government is making it more difficult to become more sustainable.”
According to him, Heimstaden in the Netherlands mainly focused on houses that still need to be made more sustainable, but these houses are becoming less interesting.
The outgoing Cabinet’s new policy to regulate mid-priced rents allows landlords to charge lower rent if the home has limited sustainability. The outgoing Cabinet hopes this will be an incentive for property owners to become more sustainable.
“We still believe it is very important that these homes are more sustainable, but under current government policy it is almost no longer possible to make significant strides in this regard. Government policy is also making it more difficult to invest in affordable housing.” says the speaker.
Experts fear that sold homes will disappear from the rental market
Earlier this year, a major Canadian landlord decided to sell 6,900 Dutch homes at the same time. Renting will become less profitable if the government regulates medium-term rental prices. Landlords may be able to charge less money for housing.
Experts fear that some of these homes will disappear from the rental market. If supply is lower, it will become more difficult for renters to find affordable rental housing.