Dutch housing minister Mona Keijzer has published new rules to speed up residential housing development in the Netherlands, including placing restrictions on the right to appeal and making it easier to build in rural areas.

The aim of the measures is to ensure that enough affordable housing is built, that procedures are shorter, and that everyone has an equal chance of getting a home, the minister said.

The legislation, Keijzer said, will “provide legal instruments for government and local authorities to work more quickly with the private sector in building both sufficient and the right kind of housing. It is also important to ensure that people with an average income have the opportunity to find an affordable home in every local authority area.”

Cutting red tape

Current planning rules state that applications for new residential locations should be supported by evidence that there is a need for housing in that particular place, limiting development outside current town and city boundaries.

This procedure requires additional research, time, and costs and will therefore be scrapped, the minister said, adding that this will make it quicker and easier to build outside existing urban areas.

In an effort to cut down on protests, protesters will only be allowed one legal appeal instead of two in projects of more than 12 units, and the ruling must be made within six months, the minister said.

30% social housing

The new rules also state that two-thirds of new builds in the Netherlands should be accessible to people on low and average incomes and that 30% should be social housing on a regional rather than a project basis. This was agreed at December’s housing summit between the government, developers and investors and marks a shift in the current project-based percentages.

The rules also make it easier for homeowners to build a “granny flat” on their property without a permit and simplify the regulations for sustainable construction.

Affordability a challenge

“The measures are a step in the right direction, but still more can be done,” said Dutch developers’ organisation Neprom in response. In addition, affordability remains a challenge, Neprom said.

“The agreement that two-thirds of new developments should be classed as ‘affordable’ is becoming increasingly difficult to realise,” Neprom said. “What does help is that planning procedures are now being made uniform and agreed at a regional level.”

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