What will renting cost in 2021?

What does a social rental home cost?

Are you moving to a social rental home in 2021? Then the (basic) rent of that house can be a maximum of € 752.33. This is the new liberalization frontier. This limit is set by the government and shifts a little every year. Note: liberalization limit applies to initial renting. Those who have been renting for longer sometimes pay more for a social rental home. That is not new in 2021, but has been so for years. It is also not new that both housing corporations and investors can rent out social rental homes. With an initial rent below the liberalization limit, you do not rent in the free (liberalized) sector, but in the social (government-regulated) sector.

With what income can I start renting socially from a housing association?

You have the best chance with an annual income of less than € 40,024. If you earn a little more, too, but if your income is higher than € 44,655, you can only rent social housing in exceptional cases. For example, if you have to move due to demolition of your home, or if you have difficulty finding suitable accommodation due to a disability. In 2021, housing associations must adhere to the following rules:

At least 80% of the homes that become available with a rent up to € 752.33 must go to households with an annual income of up to € 40,024. A maximum of 10% of the homes with a rent up to € 752.33 may go to households with an annual income between € 40,024 and € 44,655. There is no income limit for the remaining 10% of the homes. But corporations must observe priority rules from the local housing regulation when allocating these homes. What those rules are differs per municipality. They must also comply with the Decree on Admitted Institutions (BTIV). That decision states that people with physical or psychological disabilities must be given priority.

These rules do not apply to commercial landlords (private landlords and real estate investors) who rent out social rental homes.

What does social renting cost if I have a low income?

Do you have a low income and are you going to rent from a housing association in 2021? then you pay a maximum of € 633.25 (households of 1 or 2 persons) or € 678.66 (larger households). This is due to the 'appropriate allocation' that housing corporations have been doing for a few years. At least 95% of the homes that corporations rent out to low-income households must have affordable rent. Which rental price is considered 'affordable' shifts a bit every year. In practice, the government sees everything below the capping limit for housing benefit as 'affordable rent'.

What does the government see as 'low income'?

For 'appropriate allocation' of social rental housing of housing corporations, income limits have been applied for years. The amounts associated with these limits shift slightly every year. For 2021 the amounts are:

Living alone, not yet AOW - € 23,725 Not living alone, not yet AOW - € 32,200 Living alone, AOW - € 23,075 Not living alone, AOW - € 32,075

Exactly the same limits apply to the right to a one-off rent reduction. If your annual income is lower (and you have a high rent) you can get a rent reduction in 2021.

In the past, these limits also applied to the right to housing benefit. With a higher income you could never get housing benefit. This has been different since 2020.

Can I get a rent reduction?

The government has created a new scheme especially for tenants with a low income who rent from a housing association. Is your rent higher than € 633.25 (1 and 2 person household) or € 678.25 (larger households) and do you have a low income? Then you will receive a rent reduction in 2021. You can read more about this one-off rent reduction in this article.

The cabinet has not (yet) wanted to make arrangements for tenants with a low income who rent from an investor. The Senate passed a motion requiring the government to investigate what they can do for these tenants. The government must let us know what it will do well before July 1, 2021 (the date of the annual rent increase for most tenants).

Can I get a temporary rental discount?

Perhaps. In addition to the one-off rent reduction that will only apply in 2021, there is also a legal regulation in the making that makes temporary rent discounts possible. This concerns a rent discount that can last a minimum of one month to a maximum of three years. After the content of the law that regulates this has been definitively established, you can read more on the website of the Woonbond. We recommend tenants who need a rent discount (for example if they have less income due to corona) to contact their landlord.

Can I get housing benefit?

This is possible if your rent is not too high, your income is modest and you do not have too much capital. Important: who you rent the house from (housing corporation, investor, private person) does not matter for the rent allowance.

When you apply for rent allowance for the first time, your rent may not exceed the rent allowance limit. In 2021, this will be € 752.33. Since 2020, there will no longer be a hard income limit for housing benefit. So even with a slightly higher income you can be entitled to it. Whether that is the case depends on your rental price. In practice, housing benefit is sometimes possible if you have an income of up to € 31,000 (single person) or up to € 41,000 (couples and families). You may not have too much capital (such as savings and money in your checking account). In 2021 you may have a maximum of € 31,340 per person in assets. Do you have more on January 1? Then you are not entitled to housing benefit throughout the year 2021. Note: it is new that the capital limit for housing benefit is no longer the same as the capital limit for having to pay tax in box 3.

do you want to know whether you will receive housing benefit in 2021? Use the calculation tool of the tax authorities to make a test calculation.

What will the rent increase be from 1 July?

The maximum rent increase in 2021 depends on your income and whether you rent a social rental home or a private sector home.

Free sector

For the first time, a maximum rent increase will apply to the private sector. For 2021, the maximum rent increase is 2.4% (inflation plus one percent).

The law that makes this limitation of the rent increase possible has yet to be passed in parliament.

Social sector

There is no rent increase for tenants in the social sector this year. The House of Representatives passed a motion by SP Member of Parliament Beckerman to freeze rents. This applies to social tenants at housing corporations and commercial landlords. Whether you rent in the social sector depends on the price the house had when you moved in.