The survey results show that Vesteda tenants are the most satisfied tenants in the benchmark survey, as they gave us a score of 7.3 for overall satisfaction. Their satisfaction with our services rose to 7.3 from 7.2, while the score for our handling of repair requests rose by 0.2 points to 7.6. Our tenants also gave Vesteda high scores for their homes (7.6) and their living environment (7.7).

Focus on internal processes
The Vesteda board member responsible for tenant satisfaction, Michiel de Bruine, says he is proud of this solid result: “Over the past year, in consultation with our suppliers, we have focused on a number of internal processes, including the follow-up on repair requests. It’s great that these efforts have immediately paid off with a higher satisfaction score. Of course there is always room for improvement, but the current results are an enormous compliment from our tenants to our employees and suppliers.”

Customeyes
Customeyes, an independent research agency, conducted the tenant satisfaction in September 2025. Customeyes invited more than 5,600 Vesteda tenants to participate in the survey. The participation rate was 44.9%, which makes the sample representative.

In order to minimise fraud and deception, Vesteda regularly applies new techniques and innovations in its rental process. Unfortunately, no system is 100% watertight, but by making continuous adjustments, the chances of obtaining a Vesteda rental property using falsified documents are steadily decreasing. For example, Vesteda recently entered into a partnership with personal data management provider Ockto, which makes it possible to source essential information directly from a source file at a local council or bank once we have the permission of the prospective tenant. This will significantly reduce the risk of fraud.

Appeal to home seekers

Vesteda’s homes are offered and let exclusively via www.vesteda.com, and we never charge registration or brokerage fees. In addition, Vesteda does not work with waiting lists and does not collaborate with other parties to offer or rent out homes. We call on home seekers to only use the websites of reliable rental companies and not to get involved with shady intermediaries or so-called rental agents.

For most of its rental contacts, Vesteda will use the inflation rate over the annual period March 2024 to March 2025 and apply a maximum surcharge of 1% to this inflation rate. This surcharge is meant to compensate for above-inflation-rate cost increases and to bring rents in line with the value development of the portfolio. “In our current forecast, we are assuming an annual inflation rate of 3.1% and a surcharge of 1%,” says Vesteda COO Michiel de Bruine. However, if the final annual inflation rate in March falls below 3.1%, we will use that lower figure in our rental price calculations. This means that the upcoming rent increase could be even lower than 4.1%.”

Political volatility 
“We are calling for a single regulatory system that is fixed for at least 10 years,” says De Bruine. He believes the ongoing debate in the House of Representatives creates a lot of uncertainty for both tenants and landlords. “It’s quite remarkable that over the past few years politicians have repeatedly changed the system used to determine maximum rent increases. We now have three different regimes for the social, mid-rental and liberalised rental sectors; this is both far from ideal and difficult to explain to our tenants. This is why we strongly advocate a calculation method of CPI plus a maximum of 1%.  For the record, Vesteda has been applying a moderate rent increase policy since 2018.”

Tenants also rated the knowledge and friendliness of our staff highly at 7.2 and 7.6, respectively. The benchmark results show that Vesteda tenants are the most satisfied in the benchmark group. This may be because Vesteda is not only the owner of its homes, but is also responsible for the rental, management, and maintenance of its homes. Other residential investors often outsource these activities.

Board member Michiel de Bruine says he is proud of the results of the survey. “The survey shows that we achieved better results than last year on almost all fronts. On top of this, half of our tenants gave us a minimum of 8 as their satisfaction score. That is a huge compliment from our tenants. This good news does not mean we can now rest on our laurels. The survey still provides enough pointers for us to keep working on further improvements in our tenant satisfaction score.”

Customeyes

Customeyes, an independent research firm, conducted the tenant satisfaction survey in September 2024. Customeyes invited 5,600 Vesteda tenants to participate in the survey. The participation rate was 40%, making it a representative sample.

“We are of course enormously proud of our global top ranking in the benchmark that covers other residential funds,” said Astrid Schlüter, Vesteda’s CEO. “After all, this shows that our commitment and investments in sustainability are paying off. But that’s not all. We have also shown that we can accurately collect and deliver all the relevant data required for this benchmark survey. Data that we will obviously also use for additional analyses, so we can effectively follow up on our investments in sustainability.

“For that matter, we have noted that almost all Dutch residential funds have been awarded a five-star rating, putting them among the 20% highest scoring funds in the benchmark on a global level. This means the Netherlands is in a very good position internationally. Of course, our combined impact is much more important than each individual position and number of stars in the benchmark, but the GRESB results are one huge compliment to the Dutch residential investment sector.”

In the coming years, Vesteda will certainly continue to work on making residential complexes with higher energy consumption more sustainable, the installation of almost 11,000 (free) solar panels each year, taking measures to address climate risks and engaging tenants in the reduction of their own energy consumption. In doing so, Vesteda is providing affordable, sustainable and climate-proof rental homes and improving the liveability of neighbourhoods.

“We do not expect this legislative amendment for the liberalised rental sector in the short term,” said Astrid Schlüter, Vesteda COO. "We would like to inform our tenant organisations and tenants in good time about our proposed rent policy. The statutory advice deadlines are tight, which is why we cannot wait for political decision-making. Announcing our rent price policy at an early stage gives tenant organisations enough time to give their advice and we can then inform our tenants before 1 May about the rent increase from 1 July 2024.”

Proposed 2024 rent policy

“In addition, we think a 6.8% rent increase is on the high side,” Astrid Schlüter continued. “We think it is important that our homes remain affordable in the future. We also advocate a consistent rent policy, so tenants know in advance what they can expect from us. This is why we have once again opted for a rent increase of inflation (CPI) + 1%, with a maximum of 4% for our liberalised rental homes. This same maximum percentage applies to our government-regulated homes.” The 1% surcharge is intended to meet building, renovation and sustainability costs.

Inflation not yet known

The inflation rate (CPI) will be set in March based on the March 2023-March 2024 inflation rate. Schlüter: “We are assuming an inflation rate of 3% in our current forecasts. If the final inflation rate is higher, it will remain 3% in our calculations. If the inflation rate is lower, we will include that figure in the rent calculation. As a result, the maximum rent increase this year could therefore be even lower than 4%.”

Peace of mind and predictability

According to Astrid Schlüter, the inertia and political capriciousness in recent years have created a lot of uncertainty among both tenants and landlords. “It is striking that over the past three years, politicians have changed the system for setting the maximum rent increase every single year. We have to keep changing in line with these systems and so do our tenants. We advocate a single statutory system that is fixed for the next 10 years. By doing this, the government will ensure a consistent rent increase policy and much-needed peace and predictability for both tenants and landlords.”

Active contribution to mobility

When allocating the apartments, Vesteda gave priority to residents from Amsterdam New West and to tenants who were leaving a social rental home behind. As a result, their homes were once again available to first-time renters and people with lower incomes. By doing this, Vesteda made an active contribution to mobility on the Amsterdam housing market.

Other priority schemes

In addition, in the allocation of the apartments Vesteda gave priority to people in key social professions, such as employees in healthcare, education, the police force and the fire brigade. A third of the new tenants work in one of these sectors. Furthermore, friends and colleagues were able to sign up for so-called ‘Friends’ apartments, enabling these singles to share housing costs. All in all, Vesteda allocated almost 100 percent of the mid-rental homes to priority candidates.

Alderman Reinier Van Dantzig: “These new homes are badly needed by Amsterdam residents who are waiting for a new home. It is especially important that we were able to create extra opportunities for residents from Amsterdam New West, for police officers, teachers and healthcare workers and for people leaving behind social housing. This also makes the complex an improvement for the neighbourhood and I wish all residents a lot of enjoyment in their new homes.”

Rene Tim, Head of Acquisitions & Development at Vesteda: “We are proud of the completion of The Ox, a beautiful residential building that gives a boost to the transformation of Amsterdam New West. With The Ox, we are offering affordable and high-quality rental homes to people who are indispensable to the city, such as teachers, nurses and police officers. We want them to be able to (continue to) live and work in their own city. We are also contributing to mobility on the housing market and diversity in the neighbourhood. The Ox is a perfect example of how we fulfil our social role as a residential investor.”

Frank Klomp, Project Development Director at Van Wijnen: “As Van Wijnen, we are proud to be giving such a wonderful asset to Vesteda and the city of Amsterdam with the development and realisation of this beautiful project.”

The Ox was developed by Van Wijnen Projectontwikkeling Midden B.V. and built by Van Wijnen Amsterdam B.V. The design is by LEVS architects. The rental of the apartments started in November 2023 and has now been completed. The first residents will move into their new homes in February 2024.

Vesteda’s residential portfolio grew from 23,000 to 28,000 homes under Van der Baan's leadership, with the value of the portfolio increasing to € 9 billion from almost € 4 billion. In addition, he made the sustainability of the residential portfolio a major priority. This recently led to a global No 1 position in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB). Vesteda also saw its tenant and employee satisfaction increase significantly under his leadership.

Van der Baan explained his announced departure as follows: “After 10 years at Vesteda, I have decided to do something else. When I arrived, the company was going through a difficult period, partly due to the prolonged financial crisis. Thanks in part to improved market conditions, and with broad support from our participants, supervisory committee members and colleagues, we managed to strengthen and expand Vesteda. Vesteda is now in extremely good shape and I can therefore leave the organisation with peace of mind, and think about my future after Vesteda.”

Jaap Blokhuis, Chairman of Vesteda's Supervisory Committee: “On behalf of the Supervisory Committee, I would like to thank Gertjan very much for everything he has meant to Vesteda. His arrival marked the start of a huge cultural change within Vesteda. Under his leadership, Vesteda strengthened its position as a market leader even further, bolstered its financial position and expanded its portfolio and made it more sustainable, resulting in a leading position in the GRESB benchmark. On top of this, Vesteda’s strategy has enjoyed unanimous support from our participants for the past ten years. In his role as chairman of IVBN (Association of Institutional Property Investors in The Netherlands), Gertjan has also helped institutional investors gain the recognition they deserve for their role in the housing market. In doing so, he clearly demonstrated his social commitment; not only from the investors’ point of view, but also from the tenants’ perspective. We have found our cooperation with Gertjan and his transparent way of working extremely pleasant and professional. We wish him every success and we are very curious to see where and how he will continue his career.”

The Supervisory Committee has now started the process of finding a suitable successor (m/f).

Since this morning, Vesteda is a GRESB Global Sector Leader Residential. This is the first time Vesteda has achieved this global top position in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark. On 1 October, Vesteda had already been awarded a five-star status and the top position in its reference group in the Netherlands and Europe.

Gertjan van der Baan is proud of this achievement: "This is great news. In 2015, Vesteda ranked last in the Netherlands. That was a wake-up call for us and prompted us to devote more attention and money to the sustainability of our portfolio and our ESG strategy. These huge investments have been increasingly paying off in recent years. We now have the largest BREEAM-certified real estate portfolio in the world, and in the coming years we will focus even more on reducing the energy demand per home and outperforming the Paris Agreement. Our shareholders: pension funds and insurers, have given us €200 million to fund these efforts over the next few years."

Sebastien Roussotte, CEO of GRESB: “GRESB Sector Leaders embody the industry’s champions, leading the charge towards a net-zero future and propelling the sector forward. We wholeheartedly commend this year’s Sector Leaders for their dedication, leadership and commitment to ESG principles and sustainability.”

Vesteda’s total score rose to 96 points, from 88 points in 2022. By 2030, Vesteda aims to cut its energy consumption by 55% compared with 1990. In the coming years, Vesteda will focus on making residential complexes with high energy consumption more sustainable, installing almost 10,000 solar panels a year in the period 2023-2027, taking measures to mitigate climate risks and involving tenants in the reduction of their energy consumption. By doing this, Vesteda will ensure the availability of affordable, sustainable and climate-proof rental housing and a better quality of life in Dutch neighbourhoods.

The five-star rating is the highest attainable rating in the annual GRESB benchmark survey and puts Vesteda in the 20% best scoring funds participating in the benchmark worldwide. Vesteda achieved the top spot in the benchmark group in the Netherlands and Europe for the first time. Vesteda’s total score rose to 96 points, from 88 points in 2022. Vesteda was ranked 9th in last year’s survey and came in as low as 11th and last in 2015.

Largest BREEAM-certified real estate portfolio in the world
Over the past eight years, Vesteda has put a huge amount of effort into integrating sustainability in its operational processes. In 2022, for instance, Vesteda had almost its entire residential portfolio certified using the new BREEAM-NL In-Use Residential guideline. This immediately created the largest BREEAM-certified real estate portfolio in the world. This was also the main driver of the sharp rise in the benchmark compared with last year.

Tightened sustainability strategy, 55% reduction in energy consumption by 2030
Achieving the top position is the tangible result of the sustainability-related measures Vesteda has taken in recent years. However, this does not mean that Vesteda is planning to rest on its laurels. Vesteda recently tightened its sustainability strategy even further. By 2030, Vesteda aims to cut its energy consumption by 55% compared with 1990. In the coming years, Vesteda will focus on reducing the energy demand per home by making residential complexes with high energy consumption more sustainable, installing almost 10,000 solar panels a year in the period 2023-2027, taking measures to mitigate climate risks and involving tenants in the reduction of their energy consumption. Vesteda has € 200 million available to finance these initiatives in the coming years. By doing this, Vesteda will ensure the availability of affordable, sustainable and climate-proof rental housing and a better quality of life in Dutch neighbourhoods.

Maintenance and improved sustainability
The work includes replacing the roofs and gutters, insulating the roof from the outside and adding solar panels. Other energy-saving measures include installing HR++ glass, insulating both cavity walls and crawl spaces, plus the installation of mechanical ventilation. These measures will improve the insulation of the houses, making them more energy efficient and, most importantly, more comfortable for residents to live in. In addition, Van Wijnen will carry out maintenance work on the dormers, balconies and on the masonry of the facades. Residents say they are enthusiastically looking forward to all the improvements that will soon enable them to live in completely refurbished, comfortable and energy-efficient homes.

Preservation of existing greenery
Vesteda and the Struikroven foundation have joined forces to make the preservation and reuse of existing greenery the norm in construction projects. During the work on this project, Van Wijnen will need to erect scaffolding in the gardens, displacing some shrubs and plants. Volunteers from the Struikroven foundation, also known as Struikrovers (shrub bandits), are helping residents to temporarily remove plants and shrubs from their gardens so they can be replanted later.

Pilot in Amsterdam
Last year, Vesteda launched a pilot project in Amsterdam. From 1 January 2022, Vesteda gave priority to candidates working in key social professions in the allocation of affordable housing in the Midden Akerveldsepolder neighbourhood of Amsterdam Nieuw West. Local residents were enthusiastic about this pilot and it has since become our standard policy in this Amsterdam neighbourhood.

Priority for key workers in new-build complexes
In 2023, Vesteda made approaching and selecting key workers one of its priorities when leasing new-build complexes. Vesteda believes it is important for nurses, teachers, firefighters and police officers to (continue to) live in their own city. Following the completion of the new-build complexes in The Hague and Helmond, Vesteda has one more complex due to be completed in November this year where key workers will be given priority: The Ox in Amsterdam.

Criteria
Candidates in a social profession must register for a property via the complex’s rental website and provide relevant documents, such as a permanent employment contract, or a temporary contract for at least one year, of at least 28 hours per week. Of course, they also have to meet the income criteria for these apartments. A structural irregular hours allowance counts in full when we calculate someone’s monthly gross income.

Clear selection criteria

Vesteda receives around 10,000 responses each month to an average rental offering of 300 homes per month. And the average number of responses per home is often much higher in Amsterdam and other large cities. Vesteda does not use waiting lists, but sets clear selection criteria based on income requirements, rental start date, the completeness of any required documentation and household composition. If several candidates meet these criteria, the date and time the rental home is viewed applies.

Inappropriate behaviour

Due to the tight rental market, letting agents are faced with an increasing number of prospective tenants who offer money to gain priority. These amounts can run as high as EUR 5,000 each time. In addition, the names and e-mail addresses of rental employees are being circulated in closed app groups and on social media, with calls to approach them directly for a rental property. Vesteda employees are also being personally approached via their social media accounts and put under pressure to rent properties. Vesteda has decided to cease all contact with such candidates and have this inappropriate behaviour reported internally. Vesteda recently posted this policy on its external website.

Tenant nomination

Since 1 April 2022, Vesteda’s policy has been to not allow departing tenants to nominate their own candidate tenants for a vacant property with a rental price up to EUR 1,400. This policy change was also initiated due to inappropriate behaviour, namely departing tenants asking for high takeover fees and key money.

More and more young people are becoming homeless. Meanwhile, one in five homeless people is a young person between the ages of 18 and 27. Vesteda therefore considers Stichting De Herberg's Warm Thuis initiative of great social value. By renting out a home, young people can work on their future under the professional guidance of De Herberg. The Warm Thuis programme lasts one year. During that period, the young people, who often come from a youth institution or are dealing with an unstable (home) situation, can unwind, work on their recovery and look forward to permanent housing.

Vesteda also already cooperates with Stichting De Herberg in another initiative: Onder de Pannen. Through Onder de Pannen, Vesteda tenants can sublet rooms to people who lose their homes due to circumstances, such as divorce, job loss or bankruptcy.
 

Free solar panels for tenants
All our residents who have had free solar panels installed have responded enthusiastically. Which is hardly surprising, as they are not required to make a financial contribution and the entire proceeds from the solar panels go to our tenants. However, tenants must give their consent before solar panels can be installed on the roof of their rental property.

Annual planning 2023
In 2023, the Mijndenhof complex in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, the Griffensteijn complex in Zeist and the Ittersumerlande I complex in Zwolle will be the first to be fitted with solar panels. Work in Amsterdam started after almost all tenants gave Vesteda their permission to install solar panels. Other complexes will be gradually fitted with solar panels during the course of the year.

Increased activity
The Dutch consumers association (Consumentenbond) investigated several websites of rental intermediaries in 2020, but Vesteda’s rental department has noticed a major uptick in the activity of rental intermediaries in recent weeks. Our rental department receives dozens of automatically forwarded emails from home seekers every day. The number of emails has risen to more than 500 in just two weeks. These emails disappear from view because emails sent through rental intermediaries automatically end up in the spam filter of the rental department’s mailbox. Searching for a rental property through a rental intermediary costs (registration) money, but because of this delivers nothing.

Free registration with Vesteda
Unlike rental agency websites, home seekers can register for free at vesteda.com. The supply of rental accommodation on Vesteda’s website is always up-to-date, with recent images and a detailed description of the accommodation, the residential complex and the surroundings. Vesteda owns, manages and lets over 27,500 homes in the mid-rental segment. The average rent is just over EUR 1,000 per month.

The apartment complex and also head office of Vesteda on the Boelelaan is adjacent to the apartment complex of housing corporation Rochdale. Thanks to the good contacts between both organizations, the idea arose to have a mural painted on the wall between the two complexes. The mural continues across the entire width of the façade and is not only visible from the street, but also from the meeting rooms in Vesteda's head office.

Make a difference now

According to Paul Ingram, Sustainability and Technology Specialist at Vesteda, Vesteda wants to make the difference needed now. "The world population is growing, CO₂ emissions and energy prices are skyrocketing and the climate is changing. As a socially committed organisation, we want to contribute to a solution for these problems." In addition, Ingram believes that not just Dutch home owners, but also rental tenants should be able to contribute to the energy transition.

No personal contribution

Technical Account Manager Jasper Olsman from Zonneplan works a lot with real estate investors and housing corporations. He says it is unique that Vesteda offers the panels to tenants free of charge. Olsman: "In projects like this, tenants are usually asked to pay a monthly fee to be able to use the solar panels. This is not the case with Vesteda, while the entire output of the solar panels goes to the tenant. That shows how important Vesteda thinks it is that everyone participates.

Savings of up to € 1,500

Meanwhile, the first 500 tenants have solar panels on their roofs. Depending on their energy contract, they are now saving between € 500 and € 1,500 on an annual basis. A glance at the provisional yields shows that the panels have so far generated an average of 15 percent more electricity than forecast. This information on the performance of the solar panels and consumption is very important to Vesteda, says Paul Ingram. "Thanks to Zonneplan's technology, users can monitor very precisely whether the panels are doing their job and how much they are saving as a result. The data is sent via 4G, so residents are not dependent on their WiFi network and the security of their data is guaranteed." These insights also help Zonneplan and grid operators to respond more quickly to local cases of grid congestion. Jasper Olsman: "This will enable us to become more sustainable in the future.”

Basis of the alliance
Vesteda and Vogelbescherming share a mission, which forms the basis of their alliance: nature-inclusive building as the norm, making sure nature is enhanced in places where homes are built or renovated. The common goal is to add as much greenery and amenities for birds and bats as possible to people's living environments. 

Green living environment 
By constructing green roofs, building in nesting stones and greening the surroundings, birds and other animals, such as bats, butterflies and bees, will get their living environment back in urban environments. Vesteda and Vogelbescherming want to inspire other parties in the real estate industry by renewing their alliance. Another joint goal is to raise tenant awareness. For example, new Vesteda tenants receive a bird-friendly welcome package and Vesteda tenants are invited to join a bird-watching excursion. 

New certification method

Stephan de Bie, Sustainability Programme Manager at Vesteda, was involved from the outset in the development of the new BREEAM-NL In-Use Residential guideline: "We didn’t see obtaining sustainability certificates for our homes as a goal in itself. Plus, we felt that there was still no suitable, independent certification method for our residential portfolio. Until last year, we worked with the Dutch Green Building Council to set up a new method. Now we will use that method to certify our houses and apartment complexes in one go this year. The certification process takes place in three steps. It starts with a quick scan, then a deeper analysis with an audit, followed by the actual certification. This methodology also gives us the opportunity to benchmark the performance of our homes against other homes and against the desired level of sustainability, which creates good opportunities to further improve the living conditions of our tenants. This will help us to continue to work towards our ambition to be a leader in sustainable living."

Nationwide baseline measurement

Vesteda asked CFP Green Buildings and Longevity to determine the sustainability performance of nearly 28,000 homes and to provide them with a sustainability certificate. From early May until the end of October 2022, inspectors from this organisation will conduct the nationwide baseline measurement. The inspectors will look at the exterior of the homes from the street and, for a representative sample, a number of homes per complex will actually be inspected from the inside. Of  course, we will ask the residents of these homes for permission to enter their homes in advance.

"Over a quarter of our tenants are retired and many of them have to live on a pension that has not been indexed for years," said Vesteda COO Astrid Schlüter. The high inflation and energy prices have an even greater impact on this group of tenants. Their income has not been adjusted for inflation for many years, while the prices of lots of products and services are increasing. Various boards of tenants' organisations have previously asked us to spare pensioners from the annual rent increase. With the help of know-how and expertise of the National Institute for Family Finance Information (Nibud), we have actively taken up this request. We want to use this pilot to prevent tenants with a pension and little equity from having to worry about their housing situation.”

Conditions for participation in the goodwill scheme

The rent of retired tenants will not be increased this year if they meet a number of criteria. Tenants must have reached retirement age and have been renting from Vesteda for at least five years. We have also set conditions on their income (maximum € 45,000) and assets (maximum € 30,000). Finally, these tenants must be able to demonstrate that their pension income has not been indexed. All Vesteda tenants will receive an information leaflet, as Vesteda has no insight into the income and assets of its tenants due to privacy laws.

High inflation, higher costs

"For that matter, in recent years we have advocated legislation to limit maximum rent increases both as Vesteda and via our industry organisation," said Astrid Schlüter. This resulted in the current agreement of inflation + 1% for liberalised housing. With the current high inflation rates, it is understandable that the minister is thinking about a long-term agreement for a social responsible annual rent increase. According to the consumer price index, inflation was 9.7% last month and according to the Dutch government’s Economic Policy Analysis Bureau (CPB) inflation will climb to more than 5% this year. At the same time, we are seeing our costs coming under pressure. The costs of management, maintenance, renovation and sustainability measures increased by about 10% last month."

Renovating and making older homes more sustainable

"Despite this, we continue to invest in renovating homes with a D, E, F and G label and making them more sustainable. Our ambition is to for 99% of our homes to have a green energy label by 2024. We are now well on our way: 93% of our homes now have a green energy label, which reduces the energy consumption of our tenants. This is another way we are working towards affordable living."

For us, Schuilenburg serves as a great example of a sustainability project with additional focus on circularity, in addition to improving the living comfort of our tenants, says Vesteda's engineering specialist Paul Ingram. "We and BAM Wonen have worked in this project with the KLUS building materials recycler and Kringloop (recycling) Center Amersfoort-Leusden. As a result, both the hardwood doors and the hinged windows, as well as the surplus household goods, have all been given a second life through these local recycling companies."

Vesteda's technical coordinator, Jeffrey Wools adds: "In addition to aesthetic modifications, we applied various energy-saving measures, such as insulating roof exteriors, installing cavity wall insulation and ground insulation. We also installed new PVC window frames with HR++ glass and six solar panels per house. Thanks to these measures, the houses are better insulated and damp and draughts are now a thing of the past. We managed to improve the energy labels of these homes from D/E to A. For the residents, this means more living comfort and lower energy consumption."

Anouk Mulder, project leader for renovation concepts at BAM Wonen, is very enthusiastic about the collaboration with Vesteda: "The expectations of both companies were crystal clear right from the start. This led to a great result in Schuilenburg. And the residents are happy with their sustainable homes. They gave the improvements an average score of 8.5. And the neighbourhood animals are also satisfied: birds have already moved into the first nesting boxes. In consultation with Dutch bird protection society Vogelbescherming, we have installed dozens of permanent boxes for house sparrows, swifts and bats in the end walls of the houses in the Schuilenburg neighbourhood.

For many years, Vesteda has allowed departing tenants to nominate new candidates for their rental property. This so-called tenant nomination was originally intended to facilitate a smooth transfer of the rental property: Vesteda did not have to look for new prospective tenants and the departing and new tenants could reach an arrangement about taking over the likes of laminate floors or curtains. While everyone involved has been very happy with this arrangement for quite some time, Vesteda has decided to bring an end to tenant nominations.

More public supply of rental housing

Our first reason for ending the tenant nomination system is that from 1 April of this year all vacant properties will appear on the market. This gives everyone an equal chance of being able to rent a home. At the moment, almost 25% of our vacant homes are rented out by word of mouth, which meant that these homes were never offered on our website. This means that prospective tenants who do not know anyone with a soon-to-be vacant property is more likely to miss out. Vesteda feels that in such a tight housing market it is fairer to offer all available homes to everyone publicly.

Takeover price is increasingly disguised as key money

A second reason to stop tenant introductions is that we have recently been receiving an increasing number of complaints from prospective tenants. After analysing incoming complaints, it turned out that the takeover fees being requested were not always in proportion to the value of the items being acquired. For example, one departing tenant used social media to request a takeover fee of € 11,000 for a laminate floor and some second-hand furniture. Of course, a prospective tenant can always refuse to take over such items. But nowadays, departing tenants are increasingly demanding the payment of a generous takeover price as a condition for being recommended to Vesteda as a prospective tenant. In these cases, it is a question of a disguised and dubious way of asking for key money. Vesteda explicitly distances itself from this practice and for this reason is also bringing a halt to the possibility of nominating prospective tenants.

Institutional residential investor Vesteda is the owner and landlord of the complex on the Surinameplein. The complex, which was built in 1962, consists of a low-rise section (currently 24 homes) and a high-rise section (an apartment complex with 144 apartments and a hotel). In 2020, the Amsterdam city council awarded the high-rise section, together with the adjoining former reading room, the status of listed municipal monument.

Investment 
The ambitions for this project include a planned investment in the quality of the listed high-rise section via the complete renovation of the 144 apartments. In addition, Vesteda is exploring the possibility of adding around 124 new-build mid-rental segment apartments at the current location of the low-rise section of the complex. Vesteda has asked developer Lingotto to supervise the process. If the plans are adopted and executed, the city council will redesign the public space around the Klokkenhof complex and the Surinameplein. This will be an enormous boost for the local area.

Resident participation 
In the coming months, Vesteda will draw up a redevelopment plan, and we will of course involve the residents of Klokkenhof in this process. Resident participation is due to start soon and will become more intensive as the plans progress.

Milestones passed

On 11 March, the people directly involved from Westerwal will come together to consider – and celebrate - the milestones this project has now passed. This was not possible any earlier due to the pandemic. In anticipation of the definitive delivery in the spring of this year, alderman Roeland van der Schaaf from the Groningen city council and Vesteda’s Chief Investment Officer, Pieter Knauff, unveiled one of the artworks above the entrance to the apartment building. This and the other artworks have been produced by Dutch sculptor Gert Sennema.

Westerwal new-build plan

Westerwal is located in the area between Van Heemskerckstraat and Admiraal de Ruyterlaan in de popular Zeehelden neighbourhood of Groningen. In addition to the 171 rental apartments, the construction of which started in March 2020, the project also includes 22 owner-occupier homes. The owner-occupier homes have now been sold and delivered to their new owners. Vesteda will take delivery of the apartments from Friso Bouwgroep on a turnkey basis this spring.

Need for mid-segment rental homes

Groningen is faced with a severe shortage of apartments and the city’s middle-income residents are putting pressure on the liberalised rental sector. They do not qualify for social rental homes and are opting more and more frequently for mid-segment rental homes. This makes the 171 apartments in Westerwal a valuable addition to the housing supply in the city of Groningen.

Government cuts energy taxes to compensate for high energy prices

The Dutch government last year announced a number of energy tax-related measures to compensate households for the high energy prices. For 2022, these measures will result in compensation of around € 400 per household with average energy consumption. However, due to the continued rise in energy prices this is unlikely to result in much lower energy bills. The internet is of course full of tips on how to save energy. But it may also be wise to increase the monthly advance payments for gas consumption by a realistic amount. This would avoid households having to pay a large additional amount when they receive their final annual energy bill.

Increasing the advance

Everyone pays a monthly amount as an advance on their energy costs. For the final annual energy bill, the estimated consumption is compared with the actual consumption. This is then used to estimate consumption for the year ahead and the advance may be adjusted upwards or downwards. Due to the high energy prices, this year’s energy bills are expected to be higher than originally expected, even if households lower their thermostats by a degree or two and gas consumption is lower. Most Vesteda tenants in our apartment complexes have a collective energy contract via Vesteda and we have already approached them about this by email.

Making older homes more sustainable

In the meantime, we are working hard on the renovation of the older homes in our portfolio, including measures to make them more sustainable, to reduce energy consumption. At this moment, 93% of all Vesteda homes have a so-called green energy label, so A, B or C. In 2017, this was just  80%, as you can see from the table below. Our initial focus will be on making older homes with lower energy labels, such as D, E, F and G, more sustainable. Our goal is to have green energy labels for 99% of all our homes in two years’ time. In consultation with our tenants, we are already taking energy-saving measures, such as the  installation of HR++ double glazing, the insulation of walls and roofs and the installation of solar panels.

This is why we have been working with the Amersfoort city council and other organisations since 2020. Our collaboration with the city of Amersfoort has resulted in a toolkit, which was recently developed and distributed by the city council. This toolkit includes a number of tips on how to tackle discrimination on the home rental market and how to raise awareness at rental agencies.

We have published our standpoint on discrimination on our website, and this makes our position on discrimination clear and helps to address discrimination on the housing market.

Since the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, people have been spending more time at home and they are working more frequently from home. Vesteda wanted to know more about the living experience of its tenants in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and sent 5,000 tenants a number of questions on this subject. The response rate was 22%. What emerged from this survey? Tenants were indeed spending more time at home, appreciated having outside space and supermarkets in the neighbourhood, but their neighbours were irritating them more. More than 17% of the respondents said their neighbours were annoying them more than they had previously. Vesteda has launched a number of initiatives to prevent rows between neighbours or to resolve disputes, including the collaboration with BeterBuren.

Collaboration with BeterBuren

BeterBuren’s neighbourhood mediators are trained to resolve conflicts between neighbours by talking to everyone involved. Vesteda tenants in and around Amsterdam can now contact BeterBuren if they are involved in disputes about noise, rubbish, bad smells, problems with animals or children or a breakdown in relations.

What is neighbourhood mediation?

When someone opts for neighbourhood mediation via BeterBuren, the neighbours involved meet up with two mediators to look at how they can resolve their dispute. The mediators first talk to the neighbours separately. Then if both parties agree, the mediators organise a joint discussion on neutral ground. The mediators help the neighbours to find solutions and resolve their dispute.

Preventing problems is better

Obviously, it is always much better to prevent disputes with your neighbours. We give our tenants a number of tips on how to do this in our video on problems with neighbours. But if neighbours cannot agree on how to resolve their differences, they can now call on BeterBuren for support.

Struikroven has been expanding its activities in the Netherlands for some time now. More and more landlords or project developers now call on the organisation to work with local residents to save plants and shrubs from destruction, giving them a second life in the neighbourhood. This scale-up to a nationwide network of Struikrovers seemed like the logical next step. The Struikroven foundation’s mission is to become an integral part of every demolition, renovation or new-build project in the Netherlands. The organisation is now accelerating this mission, thanks to the financial support of its five chain partners.

“We are enormously pleased with the investments of these organisations, which will help us to scale up our activities”, says Bernice Kamphuis of the Struikroven foundation . “The local Struikrovers, who we will soon be training, will be the ground troops in our mission. Creating local departments will help us to shorten lines between us and local parties and residents, putting us closer to the table at an earlier stage in the process”.

Pieter Knauff from Vesteda is also enthusiastic about the collaboration: “We fully support Struikroven’s initiative. By protecting existing plants from destruction, we can help maintain biodiversity and boost liveability and that feeling of community so important in new residential areas. Nature connects! This is fully in line with our own mission to make sure our investments improve the sustainable quality of neighbourhoods and districts.”

In late February, online platform The Happy Activist will launch an online recruitment campaign for the new Struikrovers and make a selection from the applicants. The Struikrovers-to-be will start the first training course in April. This will cover various elements, such as a basic knowledge of ecology, community-building and path-finding. After the summer, they will then get down to work in the name of the foundation as local Struikrovers in their own region. Struikroven expects to have at least 10 teams active across the Netherlands by the autumn.

Struikroven started out as a neighbourhood initiative in Eindhoven and has now spread right across the Netherlands. The disappearance of trees and plants in new-build and renovation projects is a national problem: in Amsterdam alone, we have seen the disappearance of 600 football pitches worth of green areas over the past few years due to new-build developments. Struikrovers work with local residents to save the existing plants and shrubs from front and back gardens and plant them elsewhere in the neighbourhood. All these plants a given a second life in the gardens of local residents, in public spaces, schoolyards or in a Rover’s garden (a temporary garden, where plants are kept until they can be replanted after the completion of a project). You will find more information (in Dutch) at: www.struikroven.nl.

The ‘Onder de Pannen’ project is an initiative of the Regenboog Groep in cooperation with Amsterdam city council’s Work, Participation and Income service. Vesteda tenants are contractually prohibited from subletting all or part of their rental homes. However, due to the social importance of this initiative, Vesteda will make an exception for any of its Amsterdam and Amstelveen tenants who want to sublet a room via the ‘Onder de Pannen’ initiative.

Subletting a room to a homeless person is subject to a maximum period of one year. This is because the participants in the ‘Onder de Pannen’ project are expected to proactively search for independent living space. This encourages people to move on with their lives and after a period of one year the Vesteda tenant can perhaps sublet the room to another person made homeless due to their economic situation.

For more information on this initiative (in Dutch), please visit the  ‘Onder de Pannen’ website.

Draft bill rental protection for adult resident children

We have quite rightly seen a great deal of (political) attention for adult children who still live with their parents and are forced to leave the parental home upon the death of one or both of their parents. Following a number of harrowing examples, on 23 December 2021, members of the Dutch House of Representatives Daniel Koerhuis (VVD), Caroline Van der Plas (BBB) and Pieter Grinwis (CU) submitted a draft bill, which if enacted would prevent adult, resident children from being evicted from their parents’ rental home within two months after the death one of both of their parents. The draft bill gives housing corporations the option of offering a temporary rental contract to adult children left behind in the home. The draft bill is aimed exclusively at (social) housing corporation homes and not at liberalised sector rental homes. However, Vesteda already offers adult resident children the possibility of taking over the existing rental contract of their parents, without any change in the terms of the contract or increase in rent.

Tailor-made solutions

Of course, Vesteda always looks for a tailor-made solution if adult resident children cannot pay the rent for their parental home. These tailor-made solution differ from case to case, but can include offering the adult child or children another, more affordable home.

Legal context

Adult, resident children can find themselves in a  difficult position after the death of one or both of their parents. This is partly because they cannot ‘inherit’ their parents’ rental contract. Resident children are very rarely mentioned in their parents’ rental  contracts, as in most cases there is no question of a long-term joint household. This is one of the legal requirements for the submission of an application for co-tenancy. This is why resident children have to ‘automatically’ leave the home within two months of their parents’ death. While it is true that they can file a request with the courts to continue the rental, as long as they do this within six months, this is only granted if the home is their main residence, they have sufficient financial sureties and there was some question of a long-term joint household with their deceased parents(s). So in effect, Vesteda does not require this last condition.

The implementation of a new administration system caused a considerable delay in sending the statements for 2019 and 2020. By July 1, 2021, 42% of our tenants had received a statement. This percentage is already much higher than last year when the transfer of data from various old systems to the new system caused additional delay. It is expected that the digitized process will ensure that next year the largest number of settlements can actually be processed before July 1, 2022.

Meanwhile, 80% of our tenants have signed up with us with an email address; the other tenants are asked to sign up with their email address through My Vesteda. Tenants without an email address will continue to receive their statements by mail.

The five new homes will all look like boulders. The first home is a detached two-bedroom bungalow and will be rented out from 1 August of this year. The rent will be € 800 a month. Like most of Vesteda’s homes, this bungalow is targeted at middle-income tenants.

Temporary rental

The home will initially be rented out for six months, to give more people a chance to see what it is like to live in such a unique home. And because it will be difficult to guarantee peace and quiet and privacy. In addition to the ongoing construction work on the other four homes, we expect to see a steady stream of visitors to the site.

Sign up

If you are interested, you can sign up for the new home via the Huren in Milestone website. Candidates with the best reasons for wanting to live in this unique development will be invited for an interview and will be in with a chance to live in this 3D-printed home.

Project Milestone is a joint construction and innovation project involving Eindhoven University of Technology, Van Wijnen, Saint-Gobain Weber Beamix, the Eindhoven city council, Witteveen+Bos and Vesteda.

Around 63% of our employed tenants said that they had been working from home more frequently since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. More than half of those with jobs were working from home for more than two days a week. The survey revealed that 14% of our tenants missed having a room they could use as a home office.

Happy with what you have

In the survey, we asked our tenants for their positive and negative experiences due to the government’s measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. One surprising fact to emerge from the survey was that Vesteda tenants still managed to come up with more positive points than negative ones. In a time in which lots of people are spending more time at home and could complain more than ever about the nuisance in and around their homes, it seems that many people are simply happy with what they have. Lots of our tenants cite the presence of outside spaces, the closeness of supermarkets and green areas as positive points for their current rental homes.

Looking to move house?

We also asked our tenants whether they were possibly looking to move house. Around 27% of the respondents to the survey said they had started looking harder at moving house over the past few months. The need to move house had increased. These tenants find their current homes too small, too cold, too warm or too expensive. They miss having a room they can use as a home office or outside space, or they are having more problems with their neighbours. More than 17% of the respondents were more bothered by their neighbours than previously. One respondent gave a very clear answer when asked if he wanted to move: “I don’t want to move, but I do want my neighbours to move”.

The Regent II design is by Geurts & Schulze. They took their inspiration from the adjacent Regentessekwartier. This is known as a lively neighborhood with large red brick mansions, lots of variety and surprising squares. The façades of Regent II are made of yellow and red bricks, with birdhouses incorporated in special patterns. The building blocks slope away in the center, creating a small square. As a tower, the Regent II is a beacon for the new neighborhood.

Pieter Knauff, director Acquistions: “We are very pleased with the acquisition of these affordable rental properties on the edge of the city center of The Hague, located in a place where Schilderswijk, Regentesse- and Zeeheldenkwartier come together. The location is characterized by its industrial past with the potential of an attractive urban living environment. A suitable addition to Vesteda's portfolio”.

In 2023, candidates can register via the Vesteda website to express their interest in one of the rental properties.

In addition to general satisfaction, the Customeyes survey asks tenants about their satisfaction with their homes and their living environment. Tenants were positive on Vesteda’s homes and living environment and also on the service we provide. All our scores were higher than in 2019 and came in at or higher than the benchmark with this year’s other participants.

Focus on sustainability

One of Vesteda’s main priorities in recent years has been improving the sustainability of its homes and our ambition is to get green energy labels for 99% of our homes by 2024. It appears that tenants appreciate our efforts on this front, as this year saw a sharp improvement in their score for the energy use in their homes.

Complaints and repairs

Tenants are less satisfied with how we handle complaints and repairs, but they were very positive on the employees involved in these processes. One of our current focus points is improving the internal process for dealing with complaints and repairs. Tenants rewarded our repair staff for their friendliness.

Finally

Independent customer research firm Customeyes conducts this tenant satisfaction survey every year in September and October. Vesteda wants to be the best landlord in the Netherlands and each year this survey shows us whether we are on the right track. Customeyes makes a representative selection from our tenant pool and invites 6,500 tenants to participate in this survey. More than 44% of those selected actually took part. This high response rate shows just how engaged our tenants are. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our tenants for taking the time to express their opinions.

Vogelbescherming Nederland and Vesteda work together for two years to improve the living environment for people and birds. Vesteda receives advice on nature-friendly adjustments for renovations and new construction projects. In addition, new Vesteda tenants receive a welcome package with bird-friendly gifts for the garden or balcony.

On 13 October 2020, the government re-introduced a number of strict measures to prevent the further spread of coronavirus. Businesses, suppliers, and employees in the hospitality industry in particular are likely to feel the financial effects of these measures. Vesteda would like to request that tenants who expect to experience rent payment difficulties contact us as promptly as possible. This way, we can jointly identify a suitable individual financial solution. We would like to support you and we hope, of course, that you are and remain financially – and physically – in good health.

Individual financial solutions

At present, there is no certainty about the further spread of coronavirus. One thing that is certain is that having your own place to live or work is important. Consequently, Vesteda is offering individual solutions to tenants who experience a sharp drop in income due to the stricter measures announced by the government, as in March 2020. These solutions could include an appropriate payment arrangement or working together to identify a home that better matches the tenant’s monthly income. In spring, 250 tenants – equivalent to around 1% of the total number of tenants – applied to Vesteda for an individual solution.

Government support

The government has come forward with another support and recovery package, and you can find further information on the government website. If you are still unable to meet your payment obligations, in spite of this support, please contact Vesteda on collections@vesteda.com or by phone on +31(0) 884561656 and choose option 1, 3, 1. You can find further information about our coronavirus measures on our website.

Measures

On 25 March, Vesteda sent a message to all tenants announcing that we would take appropriate measures for tenants in acute financial difficulties. In addition to tailor-made solutions, such as the postponement or even cancellation of rental payments, Vesteda is also taking other measures. For instance, we have put a freeze on evictions due to rent in arrears situations and we will not be charging collection costs; plus any temporary rental contracts will be extended if possible. “And if tenants contact us with other problems, we will also find a solution”, says Astrid Schlüter, director Operations. “And that will continue to be the case.”

Solidarity as guiding principle

Vesteda has consciously chosen to look for individual tailor-made solutions for tenants in acute financial difficulties. “At this time, our focus is indeed primarily on this group of tenants, with solidarity our guiding principle. After all, the coronavirus is not just creating social unrest; it is also creating financial uncertainty for some of our tenants”, says Schlüter. Following our message of 25 March, 250 tenants got in touch with us, mainly freelance workers and small business owners. That is 1% of our total tenants. Schlüter: “This number will undoubtedly increase if the coronavirus measures are extended, but the good news is that the large majority of our tenants still have a regular income via their work or their pension.”

Limited rent increases

Vesteda does not want to forget tenants with a regular income. They may not be facing acute financial difficulties, but Vesteda wants to address their needs, too. This is why on 1 July we will increase rents by a lower percentage than contractually agreed. Schlüter: “Rents for regulated rental homes will only be subject to a correction for inflation, while rents for liberalised rental sector homes will be increased by inflation plus a maximum of 1%. In effect, our investors, such as pension funds and insurance firms, have consciously decided to accept a lower return and act in a socially responsible manner.”

Rental policy

In the Netherlands, residential rents can only be increased once a year. At Vesteda, this annual rent increase takes place on 1 July. This year, Vesteda is waiving a maximum rent increase for the third year in a row. Healthy returns are important, as pension funds and insurance firms use this rent (increase) to provide inflation proof incomes for retired workers in sectors such as education, healthcare and the public sector.

With this rental policy, Vesteda supports the joint statement drawn up by the industry organisation for institutional investors.

The apartments are being built close to the centre of Veenendaal and will have an average floor surface of 92m². The family houses will be built in the Slotjes Midden neighbourhood of Oosterhout and will have an average floor surface of 124m². All the homes will be sustainable and will be heated without the use of natural gas.

Pieter Knauff, director of Acquisitions at Vesteda: “We are very pleased to add both of these projects to our portfolio and they will help us meet the strong demand for rental homes for middle-income households. The spacious homes in Veenendaal will be within walking distance of the centre of Veenendaal and the Dutch Rail NS station Veenendaal Centrum. Oosterhout, which is located between Breda and Tilburg, offers ready access to the A27 and A59 motorways. The family houses in the project will be part of an existing residential area, complete with amenities, which is currently undergoing large-scale revitalisation.”

Frank van Woerden, director at Van Woerden Vastgoed BV: “Our in-house design team, which included our own architect and modeller, used Building Information Modelling (BIM) to develop and analyse the design of the residential complex. Thanks to the fact that we have put together a project team that includes all disciplines, quality will be safeguarded throughout the (construction) process and end users will have a high-quality building that meets their wishes and requirements.”

The OX will consist of 168 high-quality apartments and an underground parking lot. Van Wijnen, which will be responsible for both the development and the turnkey realisation, is expected to start construction in early 2020.

The OX will be realised in Amsterdam Osdorp, at the intersection of the Osdorper Ban and the Meer en Vaart roads, close to the Sloterplas lake and the Osdorpplein shopping centre. The building will offer two, three and four-room rental apartments, all of which will have a spacious balcony or terrace. The apartments will vary in size from 58 m² to 126 m², with an average size of 70 m². The building was designed by Amsterdam-based architects LEVS Architecten and is in a location that is undergoing rapid development.

Pieter Knauff, Director Acquisitions Vesteda: “The acquisition of the new-build development The Ox gives Vesteda the opportunity to add 168 attractive and sustainable rental homes to its portfolio and to Amsterdam’s housing stock. The project will be largely rented to middle-income households. It is good news for the city that we have been able to combine affordability and feasibility in this location in Amsterdam.”

Frank Klomp, Director of Project Development at Van Wijnen Midden: “We are extremely pleased to develop and realise apartments for the mid-rental segment in Amsterdam Nieuw West. Thanks to this development the De Wildeman and Blomwijcker neighbourhood will have the desired mix of homes. We developed the plan for The Ox in consultation with the Amsterdam city council”.

Van Wijnen and Amsterdam city council were advised by Aqua Vastgoed and Capital Value.

Under the conditions of the cooperation agreement, the Dutch Society for the Protection of Birds will advise Vesteda on how to make adjustments during renovations and for new-build projects. Vesteda hopes this advice will help it make the right choices and improve the sustainability of its residential portfolio with an eye to local flora and fauna. In addition, Vesteda’s new tenants will shortly receive a welcome package full of bird-friendly gifts for their gardens or balconies.

A liveable city for both residents and nature
Urban environments frequently lack any space for greenery or nature. But that trend is now being reversed, as urban nature and green building are becoming remarkably popular. Why? Because many indigenous bird species, such as house sparrows, swifts and house martins, are seeing their nests disappear at an alarming rate due to new-build residential projects, and this is reducing their numbers. Fitting green roofs, nest bricks and bird lofts helps give back birds and insects, such as butterflies and bees, their natural habitat in an urban environment. At the same time, it also improves the quality of the environment itself. Various studies have shown that people living in green neighbourhoods are both healthier and happier.

The Dutch Society for the Protection of Birds (Vogelbescherming Nederland) has been campaigning for the creation of bird-friendly cities for many years. The alliance with Vesteda is very much in line with this goal. Vesteda CEO, Gertjan van der Baan: “Via various media, including websites such as www.checklistgroenbouwen.nl (Green Building Checklist – in Dutch), the Dutch Society for the Protection of Birds helps the business community to build with a focus on green and birdlife. Whether this involves new-build, renovations, project development or the planning stages of urban projects, the Green Building Checklist contains countless ideas and concrete recommendations that Vesteda can use.”

Green islands over the city
Vesteda is very keen to actively help create a green living environment, a place that is pleasant to live in. The Dutch Society for the Protection of Birds (Vogelbescherming Nederland) can give Vesteda the advice it needs to do just that. Fred Wouters from the Dutch Society for the Protection of Birds: “Green roofs are not just good for birds; they have benefits for cities and for residents, such as water storage, heat regulation, sound insulation and air purification, not to mention the fact they look great. Just imagine: all those different buildings with green roofs, which together form a green island over the city!”