The highest administrative court in the Netherlands has ruled in favor of the province regarding a so-called proactive designation for the construction of 50 social rental homes in Lansingerland. Local residents initiated this process to prevent the housing construction, but their objections have been rejected.

The province issued a so-called proactive designation to the municipality of Lansingerland in 2019 regarding the construction of social rental homes. With such a designation, the province enforces that the homes will indeed be built. Various residents of Lansingerland argued that the province should not make such a decision, but they were proven wrong by the court.
“This is good news for housing seekers,” says Deputy Anne Koning of Housing. “It is important that enough is built for every budget, throughout the province. The fact that the court now also states that the province can oversee this is a boost for everyone who wants enough affordable homes to be built.”

Regional Agreements

To reduce the housing shortage, the province has made agreements with all municipalities about the number of social rental homes. In this way, enough of these types of homes are built throughout the province and are also better distributed across all municipalities. The intention is to help people find a suitable home more easily and quickly.

The municipality of Lansingerland has also made such agreements. Since the municipality put the plans for those social rental homes on the back burner, the provincial government issued a proactive designation to still build 50 social rental homes in the Driehoek Noordpolder. The municipality has indeed started working on it, but local residents disagreed and went to court.

Well Considered

The Council of State believes that South Holland has sufficiently taken into account all different interests. Simply put, the province may demand that the social rental homes be built in this case. Earlier this year, the province was informed that a proactive designation in Noordwijk could not be issued.

The municipality is currently preparing an Environmental Plan for the construction of the 50 social rental homes, and this procedure is supported by this ruling from the court. In total, around 150 homes will be built on the site.