The Netherlands: 10 new cities?

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0:30to make those markets work for you. Follow Merrin Talks Money on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. Thanks for downloading the documentary from the BBC World Service. Last year, I was in the Netherlands reporting a euthanasia story for Assignment. And during that trip, several people said to me, I think you should really take a look at what's happening with housing. We've got a crisis, I was told. So when this became the most pressing issue in the recent general election, It seemed like a good idea to board the Eurostar to Amsterdam once again to find out how the Dutch are responding to the extreme shortage of homes and what kind of solutions they have in mind.

1:09Here's assignment. The Netherlands. Ten new cities.

1:16Hello, Marga. Good morning. We've come to see your beautiful house. Oh, I haven't liked it. Hi, I'm Linda. Nice to meet you. We're in Delft. It's a traditional ancient watery Dutch town. But there isn't much that's traditional about the home Mager shares with her husband Gert. Are we moving? No, not anymore because we are a little bit stuck on the mud. OK, but the idea is that these houses, they go up and down. Yes, yes, you can see it outside. OK, so the house is attached to a pillar. Pillar, yeah, and it's moving up and down. And so when there's a lot of water, the house will rise? Yes, then it will rise, yes.

2:02OK. And what does that feel like when it rises? No, you don't feel it at all. There are six floating homes here. They slide up and down the vertical steel columns that are driven into the reservoir's bed. This is design and technology with huge global potential in an era of climate emergency. And these aren't boats. They're proper spacious houses. So this is a beautiful square room. It's got the kitchen at one end. It's got huge picture windows out onto the water. Yes, well, that was the idea. And the nice thing of living on the water is that you have a lot of light. But the Netherlands has a massive housing deficit, an estimated shortage of some 400 ,000 homes.

2:46That's what we're exploring in this week's assignment. Could watery dwellings, floating blocks of flats even, be part of the solution? Rutger Derhaf, the director of Blue 21, a company specialising in these structures, and the initiator of the Delft project, certainly thinks so. Of course, six floating houses will not solve the housing crisis, even in Delft. But projects that are being developed now are really apartment complexes, so it would be more units on one platform. And for instance, in Zwolle, we're involved in a project that has 40 apartment units within one floating complex. So that's the next step.

3:25And of course, if you make a couple of those, then it starts to add up, the numbers, that it's not the only solution, but it's part of the solution. So this is an example of the Netherlands actually working with water and not trying to fight water. Yes, I think so, because we have a long tradition of water management in our country. So how quickly do you think we might see floating apartment blocks in the Netherlands? How soon? It could even happen next year. Our most likely future prime minister, Mr Rob Jetten, I was together with him in a television programme. He proposed to build ten new cities in the Netherlands, his political party, and he proposed to do one of those ten floating.

4:06In the Netherlands' recent general election, when Rob Jetten and his D66 centre-left party won the most votes, housing was the number one issue and the 10 new cities pledge was by far the most radical offering. The Netherlands isn't alone in confronting a crisis in accommodation but every nation has its own story about how it got there.

4:32After the devastation of the Second World War there was a construction boom in the Netherlands. Money poured into building desperately needed homes by both the private sector and state-supported housing associations, providing accommodation for lower-income households. By the 1990s, with free market thinking in the ascendancy, subsidies to housing associations were abolished, impacting their ability to build. The global economic crash of 2008 burst the housing bubble and construction slowed spectacularly. Since then, a perfect storm of steeply rising construction costs, environmental restrictions and a shortage of skilled labour have meant the number of new homes completed annually has fallen far short.

5:17At the same time, a surge in migration, many of them EU citizens coming to work in the Netherlands' booming economy, and an increase in ageing and single-person households has meant demand has soared. While we're in Delft, we visit one of the Netherlands' foremost experts on the housing crisis. Yeah, I'm Peter Bullhauer and I'm a professor of housing systems here in Delft University in the Netherlands. So let's talk about the kind of bigger solutions that are being talked about now in the Netherlands. The D66, the party that will probably form the Netherlands next government, has talked about 10 new towns.

5:56Yeah, that's a marketing strategy. It's not about 10 new towns. Now, actually, we have a new document. It's agreed on that we will have 21 new big housing programmes. And that includes the 10 new towns? Probably, yes. They say, OK, these 21 are part of it. And some of them are inside cities. It could be old industrial areas, but some of them are also outside cities. So they want to build more in the country. So are you optimistic then about this plan? That's a good plan. I think it's good to have more possibilities for building it. And the goal is to build 100 ,000 units every year. That's the goal.

6:32But that's been the goal for a few years, right? In the last two years it went down, so we're not going in the right direction. So, in desperation, with limited housing options, people end up living where they shouldn't.

6:47In the central Netherlands, outside the village of Lunteren, we spot low-flying geese and grazing farm animals as Romy Quint drives us through the rural landscape. But there are also shaggy Shetland ponies and posters advertising mini-golf, Signs that tourism is important here. So, first impressions, Romy, this doesn't look like a kind of a holiday bungalow. No, it looks like a normal house, doesn't it? It looks like a normal house, yeah. Romy lives here with her 10-year-old in a community of 140 houses. But even though it's brick-built, not a caravan or prefab, this site's designated a recreational holiday park, so residing here year-round is prohibited.

7:32But in the Netherlands, an estimated 100 ,000 people and probably thousands more are living in parks meant for short holiday stays. Romy moved in after her relationship with the father of her child ended. It was not an ideal situation financially, so I moved in with my parents and lived with them for a bit with my little baby back then. and during that time the local council turned a blind eye on living here. They turned a blind eye to living on a holiday park? Yeah, yeah. So my dad through his company bought this house and I just paid rent to my dad's company and lived here. Romy attempted a reconciliation with her partner but moved back to her dad's holiday home when that failed.

8:18By then the local authority was taking notice and even if Romy's particular park has none of the usual holiday facilities restaurants, swimming pools, showers. People living here permanently can be fined a whopping 20 ,000 euros. I mean I suppose from the municipality's point of view there are very good reasons why they don't want people living in holiday parks in terms of the facilities, in terms of the sewage, in terms of the services, all of that. You can see why they might want to enforce the rules. Totally agree. Yeah, that's what the council keeps saying, but I think in this instance they're being a bit too rigid.

8:58And what are your options? I mean, you've got a child who's 10 years old. If you can't live here, what happens? I would have to move back in with my parents, who are 78 and 75, and that would be my only option then. Yeah. Yeah. And if you were to rent somewhere locally? What kind of prices are you looking at? How expensive might that be? Yeah, that would be like 1 ,500 euros. Would it also be too expensive for me? Much more than the 650 euros she's paying her dad.

9:36Another response to the scarcity of decent accommodation at an affordable price is something the Dutch used to be famous for. South of Amsterdam in Amstelveen, close to the Netherlands' mega international airport a hand-painted wooden sign on sturdy iron gates announces the location of Krakenberg Kraken being the Dutch word for squatter So there's a combination lock there Yeah That's easier, otherwise you have to give everybody keys Behind the entrance lies a piece of wasteland There are caravans, a few cars and some hand-built shelters, a bit like large sheds. It's home to 16 people. So it's already empty for 10 years and the reason that we're here, you don't hear it today actually, but it's underneath the route of Sripal, like the airport.

10:28Oh, it's the flight path. The flight path and so there's a lot of airplane noise. This is Skye, a sustainable energy engineer and she's lived here since the squat was founded in 2023. And because of the rules around airplane noise, then you're not allowed to build, because that's actually too unhealthy to have this amount of noise. But it's a huge piece of land, and the reasoning that we made is that the plane should not be placed before housing. It's crazy that we make these priorities. In the 1960s and 70s, squatting became a mass social movement. Now, with homes at a premium, the crackers are back.

11:06Skye, whose mum was a squatter back in the day too, became disillusioned with accommodation on offer in Amsterdam, as did her partner, Pierre. I was illegally subletting an attic. And, yeah, so then we heard about this piece of land. Then we were like, oh, but what if we just squat it and start living on the land? And then, yeah, we were here for about a day and then we called the police and said, like, hey, we're living here. And then the police came and they said, yeah, you're living here. and since then we live here. Although squatting was made a criminal offence in 2010, it seems there are loopholes in the law, with courts perhaps reluctant to take action in a housing crisis.

11:47So we're on a kind of like a wooden walkway that's been put down and it's been cut. You've cut these long grasses on either side. It's very pretty, isn't it? Yeah, it's very pretty. But you're surrounded by these massive, great... Look, you've got a Radisson hotel there. Skye lives here in a van, but Pia's building his own home. It's ambitious. OK, so hang on a second, what's this made of? Yeah, so the facade of the building is solar panels. So I just bought this trailer, and then I built this whole house on top of it. It's a small, very tall, square box. There's barely room to swing a cat. So you've got a bed that you've built, kind of like a mezzanine bed.

12:31Yeah, exactly. And it's quite high, isn't it? How tall is the structure? It's just so high that it's allowed on the road. It's road legal, basically. It's 420 high. If we ever have to leave, I would like to take this whole structure. Take it with you. Because, yeah, it's a lot of work. Fantastic. And you've got a skylight there. Yeah. So you lie in bed and look at the stars. Yeah, I can, yeah. The hub of the community looks a bit like a Swiss chalet, built in a day by the Krakenburgers and their supporters as a communal space. There's a hot water shower, a toasty comfy sitting room and a kitchen where peers stewing pears.

13:07So what do they make of that D66 pledge to build 10 new towns? I mean, I think it's pretty clear it's like an election campaign. Because housing was the biggest issue in your recent election, right? Yeah. The Netherlands actually had a great social housing system for years and they sold a lot of those houses to the free market or to just private buyers, private investors. I worked for a while for the municipality of Amsterdam and what we see is that there's an extreme amount of really expensive houses that are actually empty. So we have already a lot of buildings, but we're not using them in the way that people need.

13:47Like a lot of people start working from home during COVID, so a lot of offices actually closed. If you transform offices to like student housing or starter housing or cooperative housing, And I also think in this way of being able to share a kitchen or a communal space, like using less appliances, housing can be cheaper. You don't need to buy, like, not everybody needs an oven. Like, living way less individualistic and living with more people together. This is a documentary from the BBC World Service. I've spent the last three decades trying to better understand money across the boardroom, the newsroom and the trading floor.

14:26That's longer than most podcast hosts have been alive. But even though I've got questions, join me, Merrin's subset web, every week for my show Merrin Talks Money from Bloomberg Podcasts, where I have in-depth conversations with fund managers, strategists and experts about how markets really work. And join me for a separate episode where I answer listener questions on how to make those markets work for you. Follow Merrin Talks Money on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. I'm Linda Presley with Assignment from the Netherlands. I doubt the Dutch are lining up to adopt Skye's vision of communal living en masse, but the point she makes about empty properties in Amsterdam is being taken very seriously.

15:11We're in one of these lovely areas in Amsterdam beside the canal. These are, I'm guessing, they're buildings, they're gabled, red brick, tall Dutch buildings. I guess that they date from around, some of them probably, 17th, 18th century? Yeah, the foundation is sometimes still from the 17th century. Hannes van der Poel, a lawyer for the city of Amsterdam, enforces local laws on empty properties. Officially, there are about 10 ,000 houses in Amsterdam that don't have a registered inhabitant. Research shows in the Netherlands that about 20 % of those places are actually empty. So that's about 2 ,000.

15:52That's about 2 ,000, 2 ,500. In Amsterdam, they are actually empty over a year period. In Amsterdam, a property that's vacant for more than six months must be registered with the city council. Failure to do so results in a fine of 4 ,500 euros for a private individual, 9 ,000 euros for professional landlords, designed as a deterrent to anyone keeping a house or flat unoccupied. We say in a housing crisis, this is not OK. We get about 800 reports from neighbours in the city about empty houses, that they can't believe why a house is empty for longer than a year when there are so many people looking for a house.

16:31But now the new thing for the City Council is from the 1st of January 2026, you've got a new ordinance on second homes in Amsterdam. Tell me about that. Yes, you're right. So far until now, everybody outside of Amsterdam could just buy a house in Amsterdam and keep it empty. Use it as a second home. Sometimes they use it a few months a year. But we have a lot of examples of people not using it for one or two years and then only use it for a few weeks. And where are they, those people? Some are in China, some are in the Middle East, some are in America. But then after 1st of January, you can still get a second home.

17:14But you need a permit. But how much of a solution for Amsterdam's housing crisis is this? For dropping the ocean, right? But everything helps. Every house that we can get back, that helps. We stroll along beside the canal until we reach a grand building Hannes says has just been refurbished after standing empty for a while. It's for sale. Looks pretty good now. And use it for permanent living. So it's all painted cream and black. It's beautiful. And it's a four-storey? Has it got an architect on the top? Yeah, probably not for me as a government worker to buy, but somebody will be happy. And what about the sale?

17:54I mean, how long do you allow something to be on sale? Yeah, so the regular time for a suitable house to be lived in again is two months. If you're going to sell it, it's four months. And if they don't sell it in four months, what happens? Well, then there's the penalty. Then there's the penalty? so they've got to bring the price down if it's not moving. Because I think some people listening to you might think this is outrageous, this state intervention in private property and how people sell their properties and how much they sell them for. I can understand that feeling. But in Amsterdam, the housing shortage is such a problem that we cannot afford houses like this just stand still for more than four or five months because you don't get the price that you want.

18:40so we're going to force you to sell it anyway for another price or maybe to rent it out if you don't get the price right now. The rental market has also become increasingly regulated. In 2024, affordable rent laws were extended from the lower section of the market to mid-range properties, capping the maximum price landlords can charge. And most temporary rental contracts were banned too to give tenants more protection and to stop landlords raising rents at the end of a typical two-year contract. But those whose business is real estate claim the changes are counterproductive in a housing crisis.

19:20At this moment, we have like 15 projects in development here in The Hague. Like Martin Lenser, who specialises in converting properties to accommodate more households in The Hague. And we're already responsible for adding 800 apartments to the Haig residential market. We head inside to take a look at the work in progress. People like Martin Lentzer have been instrumental in creating more homes. But he isn't happy. The extended rent caps and the end to temporary rental contracts, together with the amount of tax he has to pay as a property developer, mean the numbers just aren't working for him anymore.

20:01We used to create all new apartments for the rental market, but the whole regulations have changed one and a half year ago. And also the tax regulations changed. And actually, if we would keep this for rental, we would have a loss instead of a slight profit. So you can't make your money back? No. The upshot is he's selling. Once this conversion's finished, it'll go on the market. Martin isn't alone. With me, the whole market of private investors are selling instead of investing in rental property. And what does that mean for the housing crisis though here in the Netherlands, if there's far fewer properties to rent?

20:42That the people that are able to buy have more choices, but the people who are not able to buy, they have no choices anymore. So the rental market is really decreasing, and especially the new regulated segment of the market. Now, the argument about the rent caps is that you need to create more property at a fairer rent for people in the middle of the market. And the landlords, perhaps like you, people might think, actually, you've had a really good time. You've made a lot of money over the last 10 or 15 years. Now, perhaps it's time to give back a little bit. But all costs have also risen, and if you need to accept a lower rent at this point of time, you will make a loss.

21:29Who will continue his business by making a loss? If your D66 party form the next government, they're talking about 10 new towns. Is that exciting for you? The 10 new towns is a nice idea, a nice vision, but this generation that's waiting for a house cannot be helped out with this kind of vision, area because it's 20, 30, maybe 40 years in time. The D66 are talking about new cities in the water, in the farmer area. But at this moment, we need to really think about making it faster. And faster is a lot of small projects using the buildings we already have.

22:10But although developers like Martin complain about the excessive amount of time it takes to get planning permission for anything. Let's not forget the Dutch have form when it comes to not just building new cities, but also creating the land on which to construct them. In the 20th century, the Zyder Zee project halted the sea in the north of the Netherlands with a massive dam. A lake was created, and slowly, with hydraulic engineering, dikes and pumping stations, new land emerged from the water. This is the province of Flevoland, the site of several new towns and cities. Station Almere Fort. The short ride from Amsterdam, travelling east, brings you to the largest of them.

22:53Almere, founded in 1975 and still under construction. So we've got here diggers, bulldozers, tractors, quite a large area here. What's being built? There was a newer school for higher education being built in Almere because the city of Almere has a lot of growth in it and we are looking for a place for our own people to study and now they all have to go to places like Amsterdam and Utrecht to get their education and in the future they will be able to get it in their own city. Alderman Alexander Sprongs, the elected socialist member of the local authority in Almira and responsible for housing. Almira is at the moment the seventh city of the Netherlands.

23:34Seventh largest. Seventh largest city and in the foreseeable future if possible we will build another 30 ,000, 35 ,000 houses to become the fifth city of the Netherlands. If possible, he says. Because there's a great big question mark over those 30 ,000 to 35 ,000 new homes. Why? Electricity. The Netherlands were suffering from grid congestion. And Almere, as a fast-growing city, is suffering especially hard from this problem. Grid congestion. It isn't a supply problem. The Netherlands actually exports electricity. It's domestic distribution, getting the power from one place to another, cabling, infrastructure.

24:14It's a nationwide challenge. Almira has the potential to fulfil a large part of the need for new housing in the Netherlands. And if we're not finding solutions for the congestion problem, then maybe we have to dial back on our, maybe completely stop our housing aspirations. Completely stop? Yeah, that's the worst case scenario. So this new school, is this going to open? Yeah, we're building it now, but to be frank, we're still looking for a solution for the power shortage that will be there when the school opens. So the electricity is not assured? The only solution I believe in is we have to use energy where it's produced and only to transport the surplus outside your region when you cannot use it locally.

25:05Oh, look, seashells. This is where people swim in summer. Marissa Houwels is a reporter for Almira One, a local radio station. We're on the beach, a stone's throw from the modernity of Almira. While they negotiate to form a new government, the D66 has gone a bit quiet on their explicit campaign pledge of 10 new cities. Even so, the one with the most developed plans is supposed to be built here. Well, not right here, but out there in the water, on land that hasn't yet been reclaimed. It's a scheme with a projected price tag of 20 billion euros. There's even a provisional name for it, Eistad. Yeah, the plan is to actually do what we did in Almeida as well.

25:52So just build a city from scratch and have it emerge from the sea. But of course the Netherlands is very good at this. It's very good at reclaiming land from the sea, right? We've done it before with Almere. I think we're very proud of our ability to keep water out. We are beneath sea level at most times, even in Amsterdam. So if it happens, it's going to be 60 ,000 homes. I mean, looking here now, across the water, the sand, the shingle, the trees, I mean, it seems like a fantasy. It does seem like a fantasy, and a fantasy that I think Dutch people really wanted to hear at the time. Our past government was mainly a pretty radical right government that promised to fix the housing market through limiting migration.