Real estate agents will have to pay an additional tariff if they deliver homes in Eindhoven. The City Council has decided this.
Eindhoven is booming, so in the coming years, thousands of homes are going to be built. Real estate developers are, therefore, in the line of fire. The City Council wants to charge the developers extra tariff of EUR42/m2 of building land. Ultimately, that should yield an amount of at least EUR55 million.
That money will then be put into a fund. All kinds of facilities, as well as the design of the public space regarding new construction, can be paid from this. These include the construction of public gardens and streets.
Plan criticised
Most of the Councillors support the plan put forward by Councillor Yasin Torunoglu. There is, however, considerable criticism from the largest coalition party, the VVD. This party is afraid the extra charge will be at the expense of residents.
“Real estate agents are going to pass this on. Houses would become more expensive, and that will affect both the rental and purchase prices. These prices are increasing,” says party chairperson, Joost de Jong. Henk Jager from the ChristenUnie is also critical. “As it is, things are not easy for many people, and we are just making it harder for them,” he says.
According to Councillor Torunoglu, things will not happen so soon. “The price of a home is also dependent on supply and demand. If we add a lot on the supply side, there will also be more choices. I, therefore, do not expect prices to rise as a result of this measure.”
The Christian Union calls that reasoning naive. “It is the same as the Minister raising excise duties and expecting Shell to ensure that prices at the petrol pumps remain the same.” In six months, an assessment will be done to see whether the measure will work out.
Source: www.studio040.nl
Translator: Chaitali Sengupta
Editor: Melinda Walraven
