Any income earned by youngsters living at home will not be included in the new 5% rule for rent increases on social housing, home affairs minister Liesbeth Spies told parliament on Wednesday evening.

She was referring to plans to allow housing associations to increase rents by 5%, on top of the agreed 2.3%, for households earning above €43,000 annually.
Spies wants to encourage households living in rent-controlled housing with a high income to move out, freeing up homes for people on lower incomes.
Part-time
However, she does not want to discourage youngsters from taking on part-time jobs or to punish parents, she told parliament. Income up to €13,000 a year earned by youngsters up to 23 years of age will not be counted in the household income, she said.
The minister said she will alter her plans accordingly. She did not say whether the plans to deduct youngsters’ earnings from parents’ unemployment benefits would be affected.
The government has agreed that money earned by children will be taken into account when assessing parents’ rights to social security benefits. This is because benefits will now be awarded on a household rather than individual basis.