6 months Ago
Collapse of Support for Rent Freeze
In a letter to the Tweede Kamer, Keijzer said the choice was influenced by both legal advice and uncertainty in political circles, and came to bring stability back to the Housing Ministry. She said the Council of State had recommended against the measure, and that with the backing of Wilders' PVV on the government no longer has the necessary political support for the proposal.
"It is a new reality whereby Geert Wilders does not wish to take responsibility for solving the Netherlands' problems," Keijzer said before a special Cabinet meeting. I am an accountable administrator. I'm going ahead with what is common sense policy."
The rent freeze proposal had initially been one of the PVV's key asks during the Spring Memorandum negotiations, though Keijzer, representing BBB, said the party would no longer be tabling the bill.
Fiscal and Legislative Considerations
By freezing rents, the government would have saved as much as €492 million a year in housing benefits. Some of those savings were set aside for a one-time €1 billion increase in rent allowances, which the PVV pitched as a "grocery bonus" for low-income families.
The freeze off now, Keijzer will have to alter ministerial budget plans to factor in the loss of that forecast "earnings effect." She also admitted that the plan was unlikely to pass in the Eerste Kamer (Senate) and described the proposal as "legally flawed."
Housing corporations had already condemned the freeze, saying it would cut billions from their budgets for new housing projects and sustainability investments.
