Local council officials, building firms, housing corporations and national government representatives will meet on Wednesday for round table talks aimed at kickstarting the expansion of the Dutch rental housing market.

The aim of the meeting, set to be the first of many, is to solve the shortage of rental housing costing between €710 and €1,000.

Research by the estate agents association NVM published on Monday showed that rents just outside the rent-controlled sector are rocketing and average earners face increasing problems in finding a place to live.

The average income in the Netherlands is around €37,000 a year, which is above the limit for a rent-controlled property.

Former Eindhoven mayor Rob van Gijzel, who is chairing the talks, says 50,000 new homes are needed in this price class to solve the shortage. In particular, the various organisations involved in the talks need to build up trust between each other, he told broadcaster NOS.

‘Investors are said to be only after the money, the minister only wants non-rent controlled properties and housing corporations feel sidelined,’ he said. ‘Trust needs to come back.’

The problem is particularly acute in Amsterdam where developers are now building thousands of micro apartments of around 30 square metres in an effort to meet demand.

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