Worrisome decrease in supply of rental housing for students and young professionals in the Netherlands

The average rental price of rooms across the Netherlands increased by a striking 10% from 2020 to 2022 according to the Kamernet Rental Report 2022. The report looks at trends and developments in rents in 2022, compared to 2020 and 2021. Kamernet's offer is particularly prominent among students and young professionals looking for housing in the Netherlands. The 2022 Kamernet Rental Report as such therefore provides a comprehensive overview of rental developments in this specific segment of the Dutch rental market. It does not only discuss national trends and developments, but also zooms in on the twelve major (student) cities. In this press release, we also provide a glimpse of our expectations for the future.

Supply decreased further, demand increased sharply

These are turbulent times on the Dutch rental market. A lot has happened since 2020. From a global pandemic and the outbreak of war in Ukraine to skyrocketing inflation and energy prices; none of these developments helped to ease problems on the housing market. Although rent increases seemed to temporarily freeze or even slow down due to mobility-restricting measures and online education during the Covid-19 pandemic, the situation is now more serious than ever: we see that the supply of rental housing, especially for students and young professionals, decreased, while demand increased sharply. We also see that there is less availability on Kamernet.

Return of in-person education and the return of students looking for a home in university cities

An important trend is the return of internationals looking for a home. This is partly due to the lifting of Covid-19-related measures that restricted mobility worldwide and the subsequent catch-up that brought numbers back to pre-pandemic heights.

With the return of in-person education, we also see that Dutch students are looking for rental housing in university cities again. During the corona years - partly due to the expensive supply - Dutch students often stayed longer with their parents, but with the return of in-person education, we see that Dutch students are also trying to find a place in or around one of the (large) university cities. There used to be a shortage of housing for students in most university cities already before the pandemic. Now that supply is decreasing, we see that both Dutch and international students are getting into trouble. And given that rents are rising faster than inflation, students and young professionals are increasingly putting their dreams aside, because there is no accommodation available or affordable in the cities where they want to study, do an internship or work. This trend can be seen across the entire width of (university) cities that are being investigated in the Kamernet report. Especially in the big cities demand exceeds the available supply many times, and prices have risen to unprecedented heights.

Average rent increased (again)

This dynamic helps explain why the average rental price of a room (+10%), studio (+12%) or apartment (+5%) has risen throughout the Netherlands. Moreover, this dynamic is expected to continue, despite the fact that Dutch policymakers are committed to making rental housing affordable and available. In some cities, the room rents have risen even faster than the national average, such as in Amsterdam (+17.9%), Haarlem (+21.8%), Tilburg (+23.4%), The Hague (+18.1 %), Nijmegen (+15.7%) or, for example, Maastricht (+14.7%).

Distribution across types of providers: Percentage of housemates looking for co-tenants is growing

The majority of the accommodation on Kamernet is still offered by private landlords, followed by roommates (mainly students) and letting agents. The increase in the share of housemates versus the decrease in private landlords is striking. The main explanation for this trend is the fact that there is simply not enough rental housing available. Especially in the big cities, demand is many times greater than supply and prices have risen to unprecedented heights. More and more people are therefore joining forces and jointly look for accommodation that would be too expensive for individuals but can be afforded together with other young professionals or students. An explanation for the declining trend of private landlords could be that many Dutch municipalities have introduced regulations to prevent houses and apartments from being made available for 'shared' living. The real effects of such measures will only become visible in 2023-2024. However, these measures are not a good sign for the housing supply for this target group.

At both national and local level, we see government plans to regulate the rental sector. For example, the national government has plans for regulating the middle segment by 2024. However, these plans have the undesirable consequence that the business case for many landlords and property investors is considerably less - or no longer - profitable. The high inflation and higher mortgage interest rates further undermine this. Parallel to this, tax measures are being taken that will also have major consequences for private landlords in particular, by far the most important provider of rental housing for students and young professionals. In fact, Minister De Jonge (Public Housing) is limiting the income of landlords, while State Secretary Van Rij (Taxation) ensures that they have to pay more tax. It therefore no longer seems interesting for many real estate investors and private housing providers to invest in rental properties.

At the same time, at the local level, we see that many municipalities are imposing measures on real estate investors and private landlords to increase the supply of starter homes (to buy). Consider, for example, the introduction of purchase protection measures, the self-occupancy obligation and other so-called 'anti-speculation measures'. More than a third of the Dutch municipalities are working on such measures. It is doubtful whether these measures will have a positive effect on the housing market. The measures do not seem to encourage landlords to rent out and thus increase the available stock on the housing market, on the contrary. Taking into account the above national and local measures, we expect that the supply on the rental market will continue declining to historic levels, while demand will only increase. This will probably mean that rents in (university) cities will continue to rise. We fear that young professionals and students will find themselves in an even worse position on the housing market than they already are in.

Read the Kamernet Rent Report online in Dutch.

About Kamernet.nl

Kamernet - founded in 2000 - has been the largest rental platform in the Netherlands for tenants and landlords for more than 20 years, with approximately 60,000 properties offered each year. The marketplace is aimed at students and young professionals looking for a place to kickstart or continue their independent lifestyle. Kamernet brings supply and demand together throughout the Netherlands by understanding the needs of its users and offering the smartest options for renting a room, studio or apartment on our website and app. Kamernet is not a broker, provider, mediator of the landlord of the houses, but a neutral online platform.

About HousingAnywhere

HousingAnywhere is Europe's largest rental housing marketplace. With full ownership of Kamernet and the acquisition of a majority stake in Studapart, the company represents 30 million+ annual unique visitors, 160,000+ properties available for rent and 100,000+ tenants finding their new home in Europe, based on 2022 performance. Kamernet has approximately 60,000 published lists with a total of 190,000+ registrations in the past year. Young professionals and students between the ages of 18 and 35 who want to rent a home are matched with accommodation providers ranging from private property owners to large-scale property managers. Through the advanced platform, tenants usually book for longer stays outside their country of origin and rent accommodation for 3 to 12 months. HousingAnywhere is currently active in most European cities. The Rotterdam-based technology scale-up currently employs 260 people.

Note for the press

Questions about this report or about Kamernet's services? Please contact us at pers@kamernet.nl. We are also happy to provide an interview or quote.

This report is also available in Dutch.