According to De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank, a better investment climate is needed to realise the government's construction ambitions for rental housing. The finding comes from a new DNB analysis of the financing of private rental housing, published on 22 July 2026.
The government wants to accelerate housebuilding so that 100.000 homes are added each year, of which 30% should be social rental housing, DNB notes. The bank estimates that 40 billion euros a year is needed to build those 100.000 homes, with about 6,4 billion euros of that earmarked for new private rental housing, meaning rental homes outside the housing corporation sector, covering both regulated and free-sector rents.
DNB points out that the state now plays a much smaller role in financing new construction than in the past. Housing subsidies rose to around 1,8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the 1980s, whereas current direct construction subsidies amount to only 0,1% of GDP. Given the scale of the funds required and limited fiscal room, a return to historical levels of public financing appears unfeasible, the bank states. Private investors have also become more cautious: since 2023 they have sold more rental homes than they have bought.
Without extra investment, a shortage of capital for planned new construction is threatening, DNB warns, while private rental housing needs to make an important contribution to expanding the housing supply. The bank calls for more policy certainty for investors through more predictable regulation and a clear long-term vision, for a reduction in additional requirements that municipalities impose on top of national rules, and for an evaluation of the Affordable Rent Act (Wet betaalbare huur) with explicit attention to its effect on new-build financing and investors' willingness to invest. DNB suggests that giving greater weight to a home's value within rent price regulation could reduce barriers to investment.