SDG 11.1 Sustainable cities and communities housing

The first part of SDG 11 is about seeking to ensure that everyone has suitable housing. Much of our lives is spent in and around the home. Affordable, good-quality housing in a safe environment and at a reasonable distance from work improves people’s well-being.

• While housing is becoming more expensive, it is taking up a smaller share of income.
• The housing stock is increasing, but demand continues to outpace supply.
• The percentage of young adults living at home is rising, but remains low compared to other EU countries.

Dashboard and indicators

Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being

Resources and opportunities refers to the housing stock and affordability of owner-occupied and rented housing. The housing stock is growing, but so is the housing shortage. New construction cannot keep up with population growth, population ageing and the increase in the number of smaller households. The number of available homes has been growing for decades. By the end of 2024, the housing stock consisted of nearly 8.3 million homes, 70,000 more than in 2023. A growing percentage of homes use little natural gas. In 2023, 11.6 percent of the housing stock required little natural gas (excluding new-builds delivered in 2023).

The housing shortage, calculated annually by ABF Research at the request of the Ministry of the Interior, is a model-based estimate derived from the most recent statistics on households, people’s living situation and the housing stock. The shortage in 2024 is estimated at 400,000 homes, representing 5 percent of the total housing stock.

Housing is becoming increasingly expensive. Rent levels are rising: in 2024, they were 23 percent higher than in 2015. Between 2023 and 2024, the actual rate of rent growth exceeded the levels seen in previous years. Despite these increases, the Netherlands is near the middle of the EU-27 ranking. The costs of purchasing a home and home ownership are also rising, increasing by 5.8 percent from 2022 to 2023. This represents a rise of 25 percent since 2020. Relative to 2015, prices have increased by 60 percent. These costs are average compared to other EU-27 countries.

Despite the price rises, households are spending an increasingly smaller proportion of their income on total housing costs. When measurements started in 2018, the median ratio of housing costs to disposable income was still 24 percent. By 2023, it had fallen to 20.8 percent. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is one of the worst performers in the EU-27 on this indicator. Only Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Greece have higher ratios, with Greece ranking last by a considerable margin. The median represents the exact midpoint of the distribution of the housing cost ratios of all households. However, there are differences between various groups. Renters, especially in the private sector, have higher housing cost ratios than owner-occupiers. Similarly, households that have recently bought a home face higher housing cost ratios than those that have lived in their owner-occupied home for a longer period of time.

Use refers to the homes people live in and their chances of moving up the housing ladder. The housing shortage is having noticeable effects. On 1 January 2024, 20.8 percent of people aged 25 to 29 were still living with their parents. Although the percentage of young adults living at home is rising, it remains low compared to the other EU-27 countries. This figure is even lower in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, but in countries such as Croatia, Italy, Slovakia and Greece, 70 percent or more still live at home.

Homelessness has increased by 7.1 percent compared to 2023. In 2024, 30 out of every 10,000 residents aged 18 to 65 were sleeping on the streets, in low-threshold shelters or with family or friends. Meanwhile, 4.6 percent of the population lived in a home with too few rooms. This percentage is very low compared with other EU countries.

Households with a mortgage had an average mortgage debt of around 206,000 euros in 2023, and these debts are increasing. Accrued balances for mortgage repayment through endowment policies and investment and savings mortgages have been partially deducted. As the prices of owner-occupied homes continue to increase, the ratio of mortgage debt to home value (loan-to-value) is improving for homeowners under the age of 35. This group, which mostly consists of first-time buyers, is extra vulnerable. The loan-to-value ratio is a measure of the risk they face of being left with residual debt after selling their home. In 2023, the ratio of mortgage debt to home value for breadwinners under 35 was 0.62.

Outcomes refers to the quality of the home and the perceived cost of housing. Housing quality is generally good in the Netherlands. Since the start of measurements in 2005, every year over 80 percent of residents have reported that their homes have no serious defects, such as a leaking roof, rotting window frames or problems with damp walls, floors or foundations. However, in 2024 this proportion decreased by almost 9 percentage points compared to 2023, to 76.3 percent. It should be noted that 2024 was a relatively wet year, which exacerbates moisture problems.

In 2024, 7 percent of Dutch households reported that their housing costs were very difficult to manage. This percentage is the lowest in the EU and is trending downwards, but it still represents nearly 600,000 households. The Netherlands has been among the countries with the lowest perceived housing costs since measurements began in 2005. Despite higher prices, energy poverty is decreasing as a result of compensation measures and energy savings by households. In 2023, 400,000 households (4.8 percent) had a low income while facing high energy costs and/or living in a poorly insulated home. This is according to a provisional estimate by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).

Subjective assessment refers to how satisfied people are with their housing. Home satisfaction remains high: in 2024, 86.7 percent of the adult population was satisfied.