Abstract:
The Dutch housing policy had focused on the development of social housing and owner-occupied dwellings, which has resulted in a shortage of mid-rent dwellings. Although there is a high demand for mid-rent dwellings, there are several barriers and opportunities in the development process, which result in the shortage. The research question in this study is therefore: ‘’Which factors determine institutional investors’, developers’ and municipal locational choice for the development of mid-rent dwellings and how can this knowledge result into policy for mid-rent housing while taking into account the experienced barriers and opportunities? In the study, the case study strategy is used; the municipality of Utrecht. Within the qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews are deployed the municipality of Utrecht, developers and institutional investors who operate in the municipality. From the results, it seemed that mutual understanding, transparency and share of knowledge are important factors in the development process. Also, the short-term focus of ‘college of burgemeester en wethouders’ seemed to play a role. The last important factor seemed to be the ability to provide building permits and the financial feasibility of inner-city developments, which affect the development of mid-rent dwellings in the municipality of Utrecht as well.
