Almost 12,000 people who live in housing owned by one of the Netherlands’ housing corporations actually own or part-own property of their own, according to research by government economic think tank CPB.

Some of them (1,193) own more than one property, which they rent out themselves, raising questions about the wrongful use of scarce social housing, the CPB said on Tuesday. In total, 33 tenants have more than 10 houses.

A small proportion – around one in six cases – involves people who are owners or part-owners of property through divorce or inheritance. But in five in six cases, the social housing tenant is a landlord by choice.

By law, housing corporations are tasked with providing housing for people who cannot take care of their needs without help.

Tens of thousands of people are on waiting lists for social housing which can run up to over 15 years in cities like Amsterdam. Social housing costs less than €933 a month and tenants face income and asset checks to qualify.

In total, some 10,000 households are abusing the system and own property they could live in, the CPB said. They are also more likely to earn too much to qualify for social housing and to live in good neighbourhoods with attractive homes, the CPB said.

Liesbeth Spies, chairwoman of housing corporation umbrella group Aedes, told the AD on Tuesday that the next government will have to take action.

There is a strong case, she said, for exploring whether corporations can also assess people’s assets or property ownership as well as their income from work when allocating social housing.

However, she points out, people living in homes rented out by social housing tenants cannot simply be evicted either because they too have rights.

“I would very much like to free up these 10,000 homes for people on the waiting list who urgently need social housing,” she said. “But we need the tools to do so. Even if that succeeds, we will still face shortages and need to build many more homes. But this situation is deeply unsatisfactory.”