Social housing rents go up by 3.6% a year, less than in 2025

Social housing tenants will have to pay an extra 3.6% in rent this year, according to an annual survey of landlords by sector organisation Aedes.

The increase is the maximum allowed by law but less than last year, when rents went up by an average of 5%. The increase is equivalent to €23 a month for the average tenant.

Aedes said social housing rents had risen by 17% in the last 10 years while inflation has gone up by 31% in the same period. Rent now accounts for 20% of the average tenant’s income, compared to 24% a decade ago.

Nearly three-quarters of social housing landlords invoked a rule that allows them to apply an extra rent increase to high-earning households.

The rule was introduced to mitigate the effect of so-called scheefhuurders – sitting tenants whose earnings exceed the threshold for social housing. However, only 7% of their tenants fall into this category.

Housing corporations will use some of the proceeds to invest in construction so they can met the government’s target of building 30,000 new social housing units a year for the next decade.

In the mid-price sector, defined as between €900 and €1,200 a month, landlords can raise rents by up to 6.1% this year. No figures are available yet on the actual rises. Last year, when the same limit applied, the average rent went up by 4.5%.

The average social housing tenant pays €666 a month, while low-income households can claim housing benefit (huurtoeslag) which covers around 60% of the cost.