The housing market in The Netherlands as a driver for social inequalities: proposals for reform

Abstract

The Dutch housing market suffered more than many other West-European housing markets from the global financial crisis. After some stimulation measures at the beginning of the crisis, the market was hit hard by several government policies in both the rented and the owner-occupied sectors. Against this background this paper pays attention to the disfunctioning of the Dutch housing market and to current housing issues which are high on the political agenda. The paper argues that the contemporary Dutch housing market serves as an engine for social inequality and leads to sharp divisions and instability in society, in social, political and in economic terms. The paper then offers some solutions for these significant housing market problems.

Keywords:

• Housing policies
• Netherlands
• social inequalities
• housing market reform
• home ownership
• renting

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.