Renters now spend 38 of income on housing as affordability crisis deepens

Housing costs bite hardest for renters and first-time buyers, new data show. Households in the private rental sector now spend a far larger share of their income on housing than homeowners, while young adults entering the market in the free-rental segment face the steepest burden of all, according to figures released on Tuesday by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) . The data, published simultaneously by *RTL Nieuws* and *de Volkskrant*, underscore a widening affordability gap that policy makers have so far failed to close .

Across the Netherlands, renters devote on average 38 % of disposable income to housing, compared with 22 % for mortgage holders, the CBS data indicate. The disparity is most pronounced in the free-rental market, where first-time tenants aged 25–34 spend 45 % of their income on rent—up from 41 % in 2023. “This is the highest burden recorded since the CBS began tracking these cohorts in 2010,” a CBS spokesperson said. The agency attributes the jump to rents that have risen 6.3 % annually since 2024, outpacing wage growth of 3.8 % over the same period.

In Germany, the social-housing stock has continued to shrink despite government pledges to expand it. Figures from *Die Zeit* show that 20,000 social flats disappeared nationwide in 2025, leaving just under 1.4 million units available . North Rhine-Westphalia alone accounts for one-third of the loss, intensifying pressure on low-income families in cities such as Cologne and Düsseldorf.

Meanwhile, commuters in Denmark are set to receive the largest tax relief under a proposal that would raise the kilometre deduction by 0.89 kroner, effective retroactively to January 2026 . More than one million Danes—predominantly in rural municipalities—stand to gain an average €290 annually, with residents of Bornholm projected to save up to €420. The measure forms part of a broader fiscal package aimed at easing transport costs in peripheral regions.

Housing advocates in both countries argue that the data expose structural failures in policy design. “We are subsidising home ownership while pushing renters into poverty,” said Marleen van der Veen, policy director at Dutch tenants’ union Woonbond. In Berlin, where the vacancy rate for social housing has fallen below 1 %, campaigners have called for immediate rent controls and accelerated construction targets. With no sign of cooling in either market, analysts expect the affordability crisis to dominate the political agenda ahead of next year’s municipal elections.