The Hague worries about the financial future of the social housing authority

The city of The Hague has called on Housing Minister Hugo de Yongje to quickly provide support for housing associations. The Hague housing association is under severe financial pressure and will not be able to handle the necessary investments in the next few years, according to Martin Ballster, councilor for public housing.

Aldermen are referring to the new financial calculations of the so-called National Performance Agreement (NPA). These are the company’s early promises to invest heavily in sustainability and new construction by 2030. “In terms of investment capacity, businesses in the Haaglanden area perform the worst of all urban areas in the Netherlands. It will soon lead to big problems.”

Ballster fears that thousands of people will not be able to build or refurbish much-needed housing if financial assistance is not provided soon. He calls it the “Hague housing crisis”. Addressing this will require a “massive financial support package” from Minister De Jonghe.

Housing associations across the country have many plans to build new rental homes and make homes more energy efficient in the coming years. Across the Netherlands, housing association Aedes reported that they are now able to fund these schemes without any problem. According to the housing association, the biggest bottleneck is securing land for construction.

In the long run, however, the association could become financially strained. Indeed, NPA calculations commissioned by the ministry and Aedes show that rising interest rates and further increases in construction costs will make financing more expensive. As a result, a total investment of €86 billion in public housing will be required by 2030.

“Additional measures are needed to maintain investment and sustainability in new construction,” Aedes said. According to the association, Minister De Youngge is also aware of the problem and plans to seek a solution.