Housing associations in the Eindhoven region are sounding the alarm. The shortage of affordable housing could significantly increase unless more construction sites are available to them and procedures are accelerated. Also, priority should be given to them over project developers.
That is the purport of a pamphlet that thirteen corporations in Southeast Brabant have sent to the 21 municipalities in the region, in the run-up to the elections next month.
Corporations and municipalities previously agreed to add 6,000 affordable homes in the coming years. This is great but not enough, say the housing companies for the social rental market. If nothing more happens, the shortage of affordable houses will rise to 45,000 by 2040.
Build more quickly
In the pamphlet, the corporations make a number of proposals to tackle the problems. They state that they desperately need the help of the authorities. They want to build more and are actively looking for new locations. The municipalities need to consider housing associations on a par with commercial investors, or make social housing compulsory parts of commercial projects. They could also set requirements for maximum selling prices.
More options
But there are more options that the municipalities can work harder on to tackle the shortage. ‘We want to work with municipalities on unconventional solutions such as temporary housing, repurposing vacant offices and dividing homes’, say the authors of the pamphlet.
The thirteen housing associations in the region rent out and manage more than 100,000 homes. More than 250,000 people live there.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Shanthi Ramani
