Dutch government calls for more action on ethics

The Dutch housing ministry plans to consult with a number of leading real estate investors in the Netherlands on a drive to improve the image of the Dutch property sector, director-general Chris Kuipers said during a debate at the Provada real estate fair in Amsterdam this week.

Ethics and integrity remain a concern for many commercial real estate players and housing corporations and too many have been involved recently in dubious transactions, he added. ´Things are heading in the wrong direction. The authorities and the business community are already experiencing enough problems when it comes to urban development. We can´t have that sort of problem as well.´

Friso de Zeeuw, director of new markets at MAB Bouwfonds and professor of urban development at the Technical University in Delft, also signaled growing problems related to ethics in the Dutch real estate world. With more and more city councils questioning the integrity of the companies they do business with, De Zeeuw called for a renewed focus on a code of conduct for private-sector players and government in the field of urban development.

Earlier this week one of the Netherlands’ most high-profile real estate entrepreneurs Jan-Dirk Paarlberg was sentenced to a jail term of 4 ½ years after being convicted of money laundering for Dutch criminals and other fraudulent activities.