ROTTERDAM, 17 March 2026 – Rotterdam is launching a pilot called Ontwikkelaar aan Zet to speed up housing development by giving project developers a larger role in the preparation phase. The city says the approach should help projects move forward more quickly, especially at a time when municipal capacity is under pressure.
The pilot forms part of Rotterdam’s wider housing acceleration strategy under the Rotterdamse Aanpak Uitvoering Woningbouw, better known as RAUW. That programme was adopted in May 2025 and is aimed at getting affordable homes built faster without dropping the city’s standards on quality or sustainability.
Developers take on a bigger role
Under the pilot, developers will carry out work that would normally be done by the municipality during the early preparation of housing projects. That includes drawing up the project ambition document and the framework note, while some parts of the planning process will run more in parallel rather than one after another.
In practice, Rotterdam wants to see whether this way of working can shorten the road from plan to delivery. The first projects are due to begin before summer in Prins Alexander, at Frans Leharstraat, Duikerstraat, Hoofdweg and Zevenkampsering, together accounting for around 750 homes.
First projects start in Prins Alexander
Alderman Chantal Zeegers, whose portfolio includes housing and construction, said: “The demand for housing in Rotterdam is enormous and we want to keep building. With this pilot, we are looking at how we can work more intelligently with developers, so that projects move off the shelf faster and can move into execution.”
The city says the pilot will be used to test which kinds of housing projects are actually suited to this approach. Rotterdam will look at timing, efficiency and the division of roles between the municipality and market parties, while keeping its policy goals on housing quality, affordability and participation fully in place.
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Part of the wider RAUW approach
That wider context matters. Rotterdam has been presenting RAUW as a practical attempt to cut delays in housing development through fewer rules, shorter procedures and closer cooperation with developers and housing corporations. Municipal material published in 2025 described the approach as a move towards building faster, smarter and more socially, while recent budget documents also frame it as an innovative route to speed up housing delivery.
The city has also opened a new reporting point at
Evaluation due at end of 2026
The first formal evaluation of Ontwikkelaar aan Zet is scheduled for the end of 2026. That means Rotterdam is treating this as a test case rather than a fixed new model, at least for now.
Still, the direction is clear enough. In a city where housing demand remains high and delivery is under constant pressure, Rotterdam is looking for ways to speed up preparation without giving up control over what gets built and for whom. This pilot is the latest sign that the city wants to experiment more openly with that balance.
