Court of Audit: Rotterdam’s action on high rents achieves little
Only 34 rent reductions followed from 212 reports since the Affordable Rent Act was introduced.
Follow-up to: Rotterdam struggles to impose rent fines Monday, 26 October 2026, 23:54
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Rotterdam’s action against excessive private rents has achieved little so far. That is the conclusion of the Rotterdam Court of Audit in a study published on Monday.
Rotterdam has approximately 213,000 rented homes. Around a third of them are privately owned. Since the Affordable Rent Act (Wet betaalbare huur) came into force on 1 July 2024, Rotterdam has taken action against landlords charging more than permitted under the points system.
According to the Court of Audit, the municipality focused mainly on information, campaigns and home visits to encourage tenants to submit reports. The Court of Audit says this has been insufficient. By mid-March 2026, 212 reports had been received; according to the Court of Audit, these ultimately led to 34 rent reductions.
The Court of Audit describes the approach as labour-intensive and expensive in relation to the results. According to the study, every euro in rent reduction cost the municipality an average of €95. According to the study, only 30 per cent of the tenants surveyed had some idea where they could submit a report.
According to the Court of Audit, an important reason for the low number of reports is that tenants may fear the consequences of a conflict with their landlord. A lack of trust in the authorities and intimidation also play a role, the study says. Tenants who are particularly dependent on their homes would therefore be difficult to reach.
The researchers advise Rotterdam not to wait solely for reports, but to actively identify landlords who systematically break the rules. The researchers also say that more severe sanctions should be imposed more quickly and that a safety net should be created for tenants who encounter problems after submitting a report.
Rotterdam’s municipal executive says it will adopt the recommendations almost in full. The municipality says enforcement was tightened just before the summer and that several administrative fines have since been imposed. That was a later phase than the period on which the Court of Audit based its results; the figures for the 34 rent reductions therefore remain a snapshot of the approach examined.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The Rotterdam Court of Audit concludes that the municipality’s implementation of the Affordable Rent Act produced few rent reductions up to mid-March 2026.
- The municipality says it has tightened enforcement since June 2026 and has since imposed several fines.
- The Court of Audit recommends actively identifying systematic offenders and deploying more severe sanctions more quickly.
Left
Arguments The government must actively protect tenants, because dependence on a home and fear of reprisals can prevent reports. Enforcement should therefore not depend solely on individual tenants; municipalities themselves should identify systematic offenders.
Values Affordability, security of existence, protection of vulnerable tenants and public responsibility.
Consequences Greater municipal capacity and tougher sanctions could help tenants more quickly, but would require additional public funds and effective protection against retaliation.
Centre
Arguments The law must be implemented consistently, but enforcement must remain legally careful and practicable. A combination of better information, accessible reporting, targeted inspections and progressively tougher sanctions is the obvious course.
Values Legal certainty, practicability, proportionality and trust in institutions.
Consequences A mixed approach could improve compliance without immediately creating an extensive new supervisory system, but it would require measurable objectives and evaluation.
Right
Arguments Municipalities should be cautious about increasingly severe interventions in the private rental market. Landlords need clarity about rules and sanctions; affordability problems should not be addressed solely through local enforcement.
Values Property rights, market forces, predictable regulation and limited government intervention.
Consequences A more restrained approach could limit implementation costs and protect investment, but could also mean that tenants wait longer for excessive rents to be corrected.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The key figures and conclusions were checked directly with the Rotterdam Court of Audit and NOS. The municipality’s later tightening of enforcement is attributed separately and is not confused with the research period.
- confirmed The Rotterdam Court of Audit published the study on 26 October 2026. — The date and report title appear on the Rotterdam Court of Audit’s website. source
- confirmed Rotterdam has approximately 213,000 rented homes, and around a third of them are privately owned. — These figures appear in the Court of Audit’s report. source
- confirmed By mid-March 2026, there had been 212 reports and 34 rent reductions. — The Court of Audit and NOS cite the same figures. source
- confirmed Every euro in rent reduction cost the municipality an average of €95. — This amount appears in the Court of Audit’s study. source
- confirmed The municipality says enforcement has been tightened since June 2026 and that several fines have been imposed. — This appears in the municipal press release. source
Editor's note
It is certain that the Rotterdam Court of Audit published its study on 26 October 2026 and reported 34 rent reductions from 212 reports up to mid-March 2026. The municipality says enforcement has been tightened since June 2026 and that several fines have since been imposed; those later figures are not fully detailed in the sources consulted.Sources
- De huur blijft te duur — Rekenkamer Rotterdam
- Rekenkamer: Huur blijft in Rotterdam te duur, ondanks aanpak gemeente — NOS
- Particuliere huurprijs in Rotterdam blijft te hoog — Gemeente Rotterdam
The story so far
- Monday, 26 October 2026, 23:54 Rotterdam struggles to impose rent fines
- Tuesday, 27 October 2026, 04:54 Court of Audit: Rotterdam’s action on high rents achieves little (this article)
More on this in Dutch media
- NOS — „huur wonen”
- Het Parool — „huur wonen”
- Trouw — „huur wonen”