Between 2016 and 2023 temporary rental contracts were allowed in the Netherlands. The maximum duration of stay under such a contract was two years. The purpose of introducing such contracts was to improve the functioning of the housing market. What have been the effects of these contracts? That is the question that Maureen Lankhuizen and Jan Rouwendal aim to answer in their paper on ‘Rental Contract Liberalisation in The Netherlands: Effects on Rents, Vacancy Rates and Residential Mobility’, that was recently published in De Economist.
Negative publicity
The negative aspects of the temporary contracts were extensively discussed in the media, and the law enabling them was abandoned under much societal pressure. However, the results of the researchers show that there was also an important positive effect through additional residential mobility of households with other types of rental contracts.
Full reference:
Lankhuizen, M., Rouwendal, J. (2024). Rental Contract Liberalisation in The Netherlands: Effects on Rents, Vacancy Rates and Residential Mobility. De Economist 172: pp 257–290. Read the article >>>
January 2025