A special housing fund in which municipalities also invest should make private investors less hesitant to invest in the construction of affordable homes. This seems to be working in Rijswijk, thanks to the fund, 100 mid-market rental homes could be built in the RijswijkBuiten new housing estate. Minister De Jonge of Housing and Spatial Planning handed over the first key yesterday.
According to alderman Gijs van Maassen of Public Housing, it took the municipality, VSN and builder Dura Vermeer and other investors in the housing fund ‘a lot of courage’ to get this project off the ground in this difficult market. ‘There is an enormous increase in people who have registered for the housing fund. There were about 3,500 registrations for those 100 homes, so I can say with some caution that this was a huge success.’
The housing fund was set up by, among others, the municipality and is managed by Vastgoed Syndicering Nederland VSN. The municipality has a 25 percent share in it, the other shares are for private investors. Thanks to this construction, the municipality mediates the risk for investors.
‘I dare say this was a huge success’
According to De Jonge, the housing fund can be a solution. ‘There is never one solution in that very complicated housing market, but this could be part of the solution we need.’
