Fewer permits for new housing are being granted, despite government efforts to increase construction, national statistics agency CBS said on Thursday.

In the first three months of this year, local authorities issued 12,500 permits for new homes — 3,500 fewer than in the same period last year and well below the level seen in the final quarter of 2024.

Housing minister Mona Keijzer has pledged to support the development of 100,000 new homes annually to help address the country’s housing shortage. At the end of last year, she reached an agreement with developers and investors aimed at accelerating planning procedures and reducing bureaucracy.

A ministry spokesman said officials were “concerned” by the latest figures and were trying to identify the reasons behind the downturn.

The news comes just days after MPs voted to freeze social housing rents for two years — a decision criticised by housing corporations and developers, who say it will make it harder to build urgently needed social housing and to upgrade existing stock.

The housing corporation umbrella group Aedes has warned it may take legal action if the rent freeze is implemented.

Meanwhile, the Telegraaf reported on Thursday that a government-backed plan to use small, pre-fabricated “flexible” homes as a short-term solution to the housing crisis has largely failed. Problems include a lack of suitable locations, local opposition and uncertainty over how long the homes would be used.

Just 5,448 flexible homes were added to the housing stock last year, and only 15,000 have been placed over the past five years.

According to the Dutch environmental assessment agency PBL, the compact units — averaging 30 square metres — do not meet the needs of most tenants. “They are so small that people want to leave as soon as they can,” the agency said. “That leads to frequent moves and empty properties, which housing corporations see as a risk.”