Housing Policy and Conversions to Condominiums in the Netherlands

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Abstract
The conversion of rental housing to condominiums has become a significant feature of the housing markets in major Dutch cities. The large number of conversions is in part a reaction to housing market regulations, by which specific categories of households are de facto excluded from the rental market. The conversion of the rental units and their subsequent sale to owner-occupiers diminished the availability of rental housing, which aroused the concern of housing authorities. Their evaluation of the conversion activity had direct implications for policy, but so far the enacted controls on conversion to condominiums have been ineffective, and occupancy regulations have been nullified by the courts. After discussing the origin of condominiums in the Netherlands, we sketch the context of the current housing policies. This precedes a description of the conversion activity in the cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam and of the futile attempts at regulation. We conclude with an evaluation of the conversion phenomenon.

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