Some 65% of the 600,000 people on the waiting list for a housing corporation home in the Netherlands are not actively looking to move, according to research for housing minister Stef Blok.

Many people write themselves in so that by the time they actually want to move, they are near the top, Blok said. The practice means waiting lists do not accurately reflect housing needs, Blok said.

The waiting list for a rent-controlled housing corporation home in Amsterdam is currently 8.7 years. By contrast, in The Hague region it takes around 2.8 years to reach the top of the list.

However, the actual time it takes to be allocated a property is far shorter because so many people on the list don’t actually want to move.

In Utrecht, for example, the official waiting list is 7.4 years but most people actually found a corporation home within four.