Left-wing alliance GroenLinks-PvdA wants to invest €36.6 billion in housing and another €20 billion in infrastructure, in what it calls “the biggest housebuilding programme of the century”.

Around €3.6 billion will be invested in large-scale housing projects, to meet the current government’s target of 100,000 homes a year. Last year only 69,000 units were added to the housing stock, including refurbished existing buildings.

The remaining €33 billion will go on “public investments in housebuilding”, including a new type of social housing for middle income earners.

The cost of the average house in the Netherlands rose to €486,000 in August, putting it out of the range of two first-time buyers on average wages unless they can put down a large deposit.

GL-PvdA plan to raise the threshold for social housing so that two-thirds of households are eligible for it. “We want housing to be a public concern again, not just a safety net for the lowest incomes,” the party wrote.

It says rents could be brought down to around €700 a month by allowing the government to extend low-interest loans to constructors for social housing.

Land bank

The party also wants to set up a national “land bank” so that the government can buy up land on the edges of towns and cities in order to speed up construction and prevent speculation.

Other parties have also included plans to boost housebuilding in their election manifestos to address the shortage of 400,000 homes, which is seen as one of the major election challenges.

The right-wing liberal VVD wants to build 30 new large suburbs, progressive-liberal has plans for 10 complete new towns and cities, while the far-right PVV says the Mediapark in Hilversum could be turned into a housing estate if the national broadcaster NPO is shut down.

A survey by voter research platform Kieskompas found that six out of 10 voters want to restrict the right of people to object to planning applications in their neighbourhoods, in order to reduce delays.

Around half of voters say there is no space in their province for housing for asylum seekers, even though two-thirds agreed with the statement that the Netherlands should accommodate people fleeing war and violence, NOS reported.

There were fewer objections to accommodating migrant workers, who are a much larger group, with just 30% saying it should be limited, while 56% agreed with the statement that foreign workers are important to the economy.