Tens of thousands of former rent controlled properties in Amsterdam are now private sector houses because of rule changes, the Volkskrant reports on Thursday.

Housing corporations have also put up rents sharply in Utrecht, Leiden and Culemborg, the paper says. The Volkskrant bases its claims on its own research.
The rental price of social housing is based on a system of points. Earlier this year, the government introduced new rules which allowed landlords in places where rental housing is scarce to increase their rents, adding up to €120 a month to the cost for new tenants.

Private sector
This means in Amsterdam 20% of what was rent-controlled housing now costs more than €664 a month, the paper says. Once a property breaks this barrier, landlords are free to charge whatever rent they like.
Tenants’ organisations sounded the alarm this summer, warning that in some places it is now impossible to find rent-controlled property. However, ministers dismissed the claims, saying they were unrepresentative.
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