Housing minister Mona Keijzer plans to press ahead with a package of measures aimed at speeding up house-building, based on recommendations from a special advisory committee set up to abolish contradictory and superfluous rules.

The measures include easing some technical construction requirements to cut costs, such as allowing steeper stairs, and streamlining the planning process.

“The demand for housing is high and we have to build more, cheaper homes more quickly,” Keijzer told MPs in a briefing. “All the rules lead to delays, higher costs and uncertainties. The advice is clear. Rules have been made with the best of intentions but piling them up is just getting in the way of residential construction.”

Some of the regulations set to be watered down relate to internal noise insulation, ceiling and door heights, and the steepness of stairs. Keijzer also urged developers and construction companies to report any local demands that further complicate the building process.

She has also proposed introducing standardised contracts between councils and developers to speed up land use decisions.

If passed by parliament, the measures would come into force next year and, Keijzer said, should help achieve the government’s target of building 100,000 new homes annually. The cabinet is due to discuss the recommendations in more detail this autumn.

However, a general election is scheduled for October 2025, and it remains unclear how much political support the proposals will receive.

Home owners association VEH has already raised concerns about the impact on quality. “Lower ceilings, steeper stairs and relaxed rules for ventilation and daylight will have a negative impact on the quality,” a spokesman told broadcaster NOS. “This needs to be looked at very critically when discussed in parliament.”

Jeroen de Willigen, chairman of the architects’ sector organisation, is also critical of the plans. “I’m happy we are now looking at the rules, because things can be done more cheaply and more efficiently,” he told NOS. “But I don’t understand why we are going to lower ceilings. There is a reason they are as high as they are… because we are getting taller.”

Ceilings currently have to be at least 2.6 metres high and a door 2.30 metres. The minister plans to chop 10 centimetres off the ceiling minimum and 20 centimetres from doors which, according to NOS, will save €1,250 per apartment.