Changes in Dutch land policy: from monopoly towards competition in the building market

Dutch local authorities used to acquire land long before urban development of the land took place. Recently, private development companies have become active in the Dutch land market. The public monopoly of the land market has been transformed into private monopolies of the building market. One option to introduce more competition into the building market is to separate landownership from development-and-construction rights. A radical amendment of the expropriation legislation seems to be necessary to promote the transparent and effective implementation of spatial policies. Property rights could be limited to promote competition in the building market, and to safeguard the public dimension of urban development.