More than 200,000 homes across the Netherlands were standing empty this summer, including nearly 22,000 in Amsterdam, the Parool reported on Thursday, quoting figures from the national statistics office CBS.

The problem is particularly acute in the major cities. Amsterdam recorded 21,770 empty homes, while Rotterdam had 10,870. Eindhoven had almost 4,000, and The Hague reported 2,640, the paper said.

Not all properties stand empty for long periods, but on January 1, one in three vacant homes – or 64,360 – had been unoccupied for more than a year. The Netherlands has an estimated shortage of 400,000 homes, especially affordable properties, and waiting lists for rentals are growing.

This week, the senate approved plans allowing local councils to introduce a vacancy tax on properties left empty for more than a year, following an earlier vote in parliament.

The local government association VNG said it hopes councils will act quickly once the new measure takes effect. “It is important that councils introducing this tax can show that homes have been vacant for a long time, or at least have strong indications that this is the case,” spokeswoman Esther Verhoeff said.

Councils will be able to request energy-use data from network operators to support their assessments.

Landlords’ association VastgoedBelang, however, said the proposals wrongly assume that long-term vacancy is the result of deliberate choices by private landlords. “It is unreasonable that councils can impose penalties when delays are often caused by the council itself,” director Edward Touw said.

Strict rules for splitting larger buildings into smaller units, slow planning procedures and long waits for renovation permits often mean properties are empty for longer than necessary, he said.

Housing market professor Peter Boelhouwer told the Parool he expects limited impact from the new tax. “Very few people or organisations intentionally keep homes empty,” he said. Many vacancies occur during renovations or after the death of a resident, when relatives need time to settle matters, he told the paper.

Amsterdam and Utrecht already require owners to report homes that stand empty for six months under local vacancy rules, after which the council works with owners to find a solution.

Amsterdam’s housing chief Zita Pels said last month she plans to introduce a second home permit for the estimated 2,500 to 3,000 homes in the city which are lived in for just a few months a year.