Housing Unaffordability Is a Government-Created Problem
May 13, 2026 · Frisian News
Governments across Europe restrict housing supply through zoning laws and building regulations while blaming markets for rising prices. Lifting these controls would do more to solve the crisis than any subsidy or price cap.
A young couple in Amsterdam spent eight months hunting for a two-bedroom flat. They found one last week at 2,400 euros per month, twice what they earned. Their story repeats across Europe's cities, but politicians treat housing scarcity as a natural disaster instead of what it is: a policy choice. Governments created this mess through zoning laws, building height restrictions, environmental reviews that drag on for years, and parking requirements that bloat construction costs.
The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany all cap how much land cities can use for housing. They protect green space and low-rise character at the expense of anyone under forty. Planning bureaucrats in Den Haag and Brussels require permits for everything, adding years to any project. Environmental impact assessments for a five-story apartment block can cost hundreds of thousands of euros and take longer than building the thing itself. These rules function like a tax on new housing, passed entirely to renters and buyers.
When prices skyrocket, governments respond with rent controls and purchase subsidies, neither of which address the root cause. Rent controls shrink the supply further because builders avoid weak-return markets. Purchase subsidies just get capitalized into higher prices, leaving affordability unchanged. The government then claims it tried to help while protecting the very rules that caused the crisis. Meanwhile, existing homeowners benefit from artificial scarcity and vote to keep barriers high.
A few places have broken this pattern. Texas cities that relaxed zoning rules saw housing supply rise and prices stabilize. Minneapolis abolished single-family zoning in 2019 and new construction followed. These successes pose a threat to Europe's planning establishment, which derives power from controlling development. Loosening rules means surrendering influence to market forces and local communities that want to build.
Until governments slash zoning restrictions and streamline permitting, housing will remain unaffordable for ordinary workers. No amount of state spending will fix a problem rooted in state-imposed scarcity. The honest choice is clear: either free up land and let builders work, or admit that housing affordability ranks below neighborhood preservation in official priorities.
In jong paar yn Amsterdam socht acht moannen nei in appartemint mei twa keamers. Se fûnen ien forige wike foar 2.400 euro per moanne, twa kear wat se fertsjinne. Har ferhaal herhellet him oer Europeeske stêden, mar politisi behannele wenningskaarste as in natuerrampe yn stee fan wat it is: in beliedskeaze. Regearingen hawwe dizze puinhoop makke troch bestemming, beheining op bouhichte, milieu-ûndersiken dy't jierren dûre, en parkearplakfoareasken dy't bouwkosten opblaze.
Fan-Lân, België en Dútslân beheinen allegear hoefolle lân stêden foar wening brûke meie. Se beskerme groan en leachboune ten koste fan elkenien under de fjirtich. Planningsambtenaren yn Den Haach en Brussel easkje fergunning foar alles, wat jierren oan elk projekt tafoegje. Milieu-effektraporten foar in appartemintegbou mei fiif ferdjipingen meie hûndertdûzenen euro's koste en langer dûre as it bou sels. Dizze regels wurkje as in belesting op nieuwe bou, folslein trochrekene nei huurders en koppers.
Wannear prizen út 'e hân rinne, reagearje regearingen mei huurfrytsje en kiepsubsidjes, gjin fan beide oan 'e oarsaak tsjin. Huurfrything krimpe it oanbod fierder, om't bouwers swakke rendemintmarkten foarkomme. Kiepsubsidjes wurde gewoan yn hegere prizen ferwurke, sadat betsjinbearheid net ferâne. De regeering beweart dan dat se it probearje wylst se deselde regels beskermje dy't de krisis feroarsoken. Undertiis profitearje besteande husobezitters fan keunstmjittige skarstoe en stimme om barrjaeres heech te halden.
Einige plakken hawwe dit patroan brek. Amerikaanske stêden dy't zonaasjeregels ferfoarmed, sei husingsoanbod omheech en prizen stablisearje. Minneapolis skaffte single-family zoning yn 2019 ôf en nieuwe bou folgje. Dizze suksessen dwaan in bedriging foar Europeeske planningskantoren dy't macht úntliene oan kontrôle oer ûntwikkeling. Regels ferfoarme betsjut ynfloed ôfstean oan merktkraften en lokale mienskippen dy't bou wolle.
Op it stuit dat regearingen zonaasjebeheiningan skrappen en fergunningferlening streamline, bliuwt wenning net te betsjinjen foar gewoane wurknemers. Gjin steatsútstjinsten sille in probleem op 'e basis fan steatsysteld skarskôte oplyse. De earlije kaze stiet helder: of grûn frij meitsje en bouwers litte wurkje, of tastean dat betsjinbearheid fan wening leger stiet as buertbyld yn offisjele prioriteiten.
Published May 13, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân