The Neth­er­lands have a very spe­cif­ic hous­ing tra­di­tion, in which the gov­ern­ment and the muni­cip­al­it­ies play a major role. Ever since the passing of the Dutch Hous­ing Law in 1901, afford­able dwell­ings for all inhab­it­ants of the Neth­er­lands have been a nation­al pri­or­ity. Today, more than 30% of the hous­ing stock belong to the social rent­al sec­tor, and 29,3% of all houses are owned by cor­por­a­tions.

In the big cit­ies in the West, how­ever, the sys­tem is under pres­sure due to the eco­nom­ic boom. While Rotterdam is try­ing to intro­duce more high-qual­ity dwell­ings, Amsterdam attempts to guar­an­tee that res­id­en­tial pro­jects remain afford­able for middle income groups. The muni­cip­al­ity has issued the rule that all new res­id­en­tial pro­jects should con­tain 40% social, 40% mid-range and 20% up-mar­ket dwell­ings. Reg­u­la­tions of this type are pos­sible because 80% of the ground is owned by the muni­cip­al­ity.