With the national elections approaching, political parties are promising to tackle the housing crisis. In doing so, they should also take into account the interests of young people, according to the manifesto published by the National Student Union (LSVb), CNV Jong, FNV Young & United, and the Woonbond.

“Building alone will not solve the crisis,” the organizations state. They also want tax measures to discourage vacancy. Owning an extra property that you hardly ever use (a pied-à-terre) in a large city like Amsterdam should become more expensive, they argue. The hope is that this would free up more homes.

They are also calling for adjustments to the housing benefit. Currently, young people under 23 only qualify if their rent is relatively low (up to 477 euros). From the age of 23, the threshold nearly doubles (to a rent of 954 euros). The signatories of the manifesto consider this unfair.

Rooms

It should be noted that the housing benefit only applies to self-contained units such as studios. The manifesto does not mention this, but the LSVb has long supported making housing benefit available to students living in rooms too.

Just last week it became clear that, due to the housing shortage, more and more students are giving up their search for a room. According to housing professor Peter Boelhouwer, the shortage is partly the result of government rules on permanent rental contracts, capital gains tax, and shared housing: landlords are opting to sell their properties instead.

Mortgage interest deduction

The four organizations also want to see the controversial mortgage interest deduction abolished. They argue this would help young people looking to buy their first home.

This is an issue that sharply divides political parties. While the PVV and VVD want to maintain the deduction (with the VVD calling it “an important instrument for stabilizing the housing market”), parties such as GroenLinks-PvdA, D66, and CDA advocate for its gradual phase-out.

“Young people are particularly affected by the price-inflating effect of this deduction,” says policy officer Maarten Wiedemeijer of the Woonbond. “The mortgage interest deduction mainly benefits people with high incomes. Because such large sums of money go into this, the prices of owner-occupied homes are pushed up, making the housing market less accessible to first-time buyers.”

The youth unions have additional proposals, such as higher taxes on vacant homes and second homes. Wiedemeijer stresses that in the latter case, the idea is to tax, for example, vacation houses. The intention is not to create problems for landlords of student housing.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.