House of Representatives wants to ease rules on shared housing

The House of Representatives has asked the government to explore whether home-sharing could be made easier by reducing the frequency of permit requirements. This could help alleviate the shortage of rooms, including for students.

In most municipalities, it is not permitted to share a home without authorisation. Often, a maximum of two people are allowed to rent a house together. This also applies to students; setting up a student house is only possible if the landlord holds a licence. This is also the case in Delft, although various local council parties would like to make it easier to share accommodation, for example through ‘friends contracts’. With friends contracts, several flatmates can live in the same house under a single tenancy agreement.

Rent a property with three people

According to MP Robin van Leijen (D66), given the current housing shortage, it is essential to make more efficient use of the existing housing stock. He points to the municipality of Utrecht as an example, where the rules are slightly more flexible.

There, you can rent a property with two other people without needing to apply for a licence. This means you can easily share the kitchen, living room and bathroom, whilst each of you has your own room and tenancy agreement.

The House of Representatives now wants to investigate whether such a relaxation of the rules is also possible at national level. A motion on this matter, tabled by Van Leijen, was unanimously adopted on Tuesday.

Peter Boelhouwer, professor of housing systems at the Faculty of Architecture, has previously argued that strict regulations are exacerbating the housing shortage. As an example, he cited a student in Nijmegen who had inherited a house. “She wanted to share the property with two friends, but this was not permitted because it would have meant three separate households, and the council would not allow that.” (HOP, NB)