‘We provide housing for people who cannot rent or buy a home on their own. That is our core task’, says René Wiersema, Managing Director of Thius. The municipalities of Buren, Neder-Betuwe and Tiel are struggling with the housing crisis. Some 20,000 people are on the waiting list in these three Rivierenland municipalities. Thius aims to build 1,000 additional homes, especially for young people, starters and seniors.
New destination town hall Buren
Thius will build 75 of those homes in the current town hall of the municipality of Buren in Maurik. The municipality will build a smaller town hall on the same site. After the completion of the new town hall, expected in 2026, Thius will start building 75 social rental apartments. Wiersema: ‘We like to contribute to the community, and this allows us to create affordable housing for the people in Buren.’
Alternative solutions
But ‘building, building, building’ alone is not enough. Thius is also working on ways to make better use of the existing housing stock. For example, the housing association has a flow-through project that motivates seniors to move from their single-family home to an apartment. Thius is also looking for alternative solutions, such as sharing homes, with the goal of housing status holders. Wiersema: ‘In addition to social rent, we also want to focus on middle-income rental housing. The combination of social and middle-income rental housing contributes to diversity in neighbourhoods, and it can also help in flow-through’.
Sustainability
In addition to new construction and the existing housing stock, the corporation also focuses on making things more sustainable. Consuming less energy is the number one issue at the moment. Wiersema: ‘What we do, we do sustainably where possible. Insulation measures, for example, have a direct effect on the tenant’s living comfort and wallet.’ And that's important to Thius. ‘We want to be a good landlord for all those groups that rely on social housing in our area’, says Wiersema.
Loan from BNG
‘Housing corporations are capital-intensive companies’, says Wiersema. ‘Building new homes and making existing homes more sustainable costs a lot of money. Our business operations are sound, but we borrow from BNG to achieve our ambitions.’ BNG opted for financing because of the favourable conditions. Wiersema also emphasises the bank’s expertise. ‘BNG knows the corporation sector well and understands our challenges and ambitions. That gives you a lot of confidence.’
Shared ambitions
According to René Goorden, Housing sector lead at BNG, Thius is making an important contribution to a more social and sustainable Netherlands. ‘The ambitions of Thius and BNG are well aligned. A roof over your head is a basic need. And making homes more sustainable contributes to climate goals. In addition, sustainability reduces the energy costs of the renter. In this way, social and sustainable objectives come together nicely.’ Goorden understands that Thius focuses on middle-income rental housing as well as social housing. ‘BNG is prepared to also provide a loan for middle-income rental housing, should Thius have a financing request for this. We are happy to facilitate Thius in their full ambitions as a corporation.’
