From 2013 the state imposed an annual levy on landlords holding more than a threshold number of regulated rental dwellings, falling overwhelmingly on the social-housing corporations. Intended as an austerity measure, it drained investment capacity from the sector, slowed new construction and was partly recouped through higher rents. After sustained criticism it was abolished on 1 January 2023, structurally relieving corporations by roughly 1.7 billion euros a year in exchange for binding commitments to build and upgrade affordable homes.
The levy and its repeal are a clear case of how national fiscal policy can throttle or release social-housing supply, central to the 2010s Dutch housing shortage debate.
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