Landlord Levy

A Tax on Social Housing

The verhuurderheffing (landlord levy) was a highly contentious national tax, introduced in 2013 during a period of economic austerity and abolished on January 1, 2023. This tax was imposed on landlords—primarily social housing corporations—who owned 50 or more regulated rental homes. The levy was calculated as a percentage of the total WOZ value of these regulated properties. The government's rationale was that the social housing sector, being a large and capital-intensive sector, should contribute to national finances. However, the tax was immediately and fiercely opposed by nearly everyone within the housing sector itself.

A Decade of Controversy and its Abolition

Critics argued that the verhuurderheffing was effectively a tax on tenants. It drained billions of euros annually directly from the social housing corporations, money that could have otherwise been invested in building new affordable homes, improving the sustainability of existing ones, and moderating rent increases. Housing corporations, tenant associations, and municipalities consistently claimed that the levy was a primary cause of the stagnation in social housing construction throughout the 2010s, directly contributing to the severity of the current housing crisis. The relentless campaign against the levy eventually succeeded. Its abolition in 2023 was part of a major deal between the government and the housing sector, where, in exchange for ending the tax, housing corporations signed binding performance agreements (prestatieafspraken) to massively increase the pace of construction and renovation.