Eindhoven’s housing corporations are implementing a hefty rent increase. Woonbedrijf, Wooninc. and Trudo see no objections: wages and benefits have risen harder, the corporations say.
Corporations are allowed to raise rents by 5.8 percent. For those paying 700 euros a month in rent, this means almost 500 euros more in fixed expenses on an annual basis. The corporations see no major problem in this.
“Trudo is raising rents in accordance with the agreements we made with the Woonbond, among others, in the national performance agreements,” Trudo says. “A rent increase is necessary to pay for the enormous tasks we have nationally and locally with new construction, maintenance, renovations, sustainability and livability.”
On top of that comes inflation and increased construction costs. “Rents are our income. Without income, we cannot invest,” the corporation states.
Reasonable
Trudo announced that the rent will increase by an average of 4.1 percent. The rent was decreased by an average of 0.9 percent in 2023. “That’s why we think this increase is reasonable.” Wooninc. says it will implement an average increase of up to 5.3 percent, while at Woonbedrijf the average increase comes to 5.17 percent.
Divide
The corporations do not believe that the rent increase reinforcesidens the social gap. “Nibud has calculated that the so-called rent ratio (the share of income that tenants spend on rent) has decreased,” says Wooninc. “The rent allowance has been increased by an average of 34 euros per month. This compensates for the rent increase for most tenants who receive an increase. In addition, some social housing tenants can also claim the one-time statutory rent reduction in 2024.”
Tax burden
In part, the high rents can be explained by high taxes that housing corporations have to pay. It is something that housing associations have to deal with, about which fairly little else can be done, according to Woonbedrijf.
“Corporations are there to build and rent affordable housing. Woonbedrijf, like other corporations, does not agree with the huge tax burden, but at the same time sees a great demand for affordable housing. We want to implement our plans and performance agreements. In the coming years, we want to add an average of 600 homes per year. So we will continue to build, renovate and invest and go for continuity. Of course, corporations do eventually reach their limits,” the corporation says of its own financial capabilities.
Source: Studio040
Translator: Martijn
