Private rental sector loses 22,000 homes as landlords sell up

Private landlords are continuing to sell their properties, leaving fewer homes to rent. The number of homes let by individual landlords fell by 37,000 last year to 492,000, the national statistics office CBS said on Tuesday.

Across the private rental sector as a whole, which also includes companies and organisations, there were 22,000 fewer homes.

Owning and renting properties is no longer a profitable business for most landlords. Vastgoed Belang, which represents private landlords, warned in September that sales would continue because the cabinet had announced no measures to ease the tax on their investments.

It has also campaigned against rent controls, which were extended to mid-market homes in July 2024.

Most of the homes were sold to people who now live in them, some 57,000 over the past two years, CBS said.

The private rental sector as a whole, which also includes homes owned by companies and organisations, shrank by 22,000 to 1.16 million. In 2024 it lost just 3,000.

Utrecht saw the biggest shift. Some 15% of homes let by individuals in the city became owner-occupied over the two years, compared with 12% in Amsterdam and 11% in Rotterdam and The Hague. In Limburg and Zeeland the figure was 6% to 7%.

The homes being sold are at the pricier end. Their average WOZ valuation, used for local property tax, was €375,000, against €327,000 for all homes let by individuals. They are also more likely to be newer, bigger family houses.

Housing corporations, meanwhile, added 14,000 homes last year.