House of Representatives wants to relax rules for house sharing

The House of Representatives is asking the cabinet to investigate whether house sharing can be made easier by requiring permits less often. This could help reduce the shortage of rooms, including for students.

In most municipalities, it is not permitted to simply share a home. 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 has a permit.

But according to Member of Parliament Robin van Leijen (D66), given the current housing shortage, it is necessary to use the existing housing stock more efficiently. He points to the municipality of Utrecht as a good example, where the rules are slightly more flexible.

There, it is possible to rent a home with three people without having to apply for a permit. This means you can easily share the kitchen, living room and bathroom, while each person still has their own room and rental contract.

Rules too strict

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

Peter Boelhouwer, professor of Housing Systems at TU Delft, had previously stated that strict regulations worsen the shortage of rooms. As an example, he mentioned a student in Nijmegen who had inherited a house. “She wanted to share this property with two friends, but this was not allowed because it would constitute three separate households, and the municipality did not permit that.”