Recent debates on changes in Dutch land-use policy have led some academics to conclude that active land policy has reached its limits (Boelens, 2010, Buitelaar, 2010, Munoz-Gielen, 2010, van der Krabben, 2011). One reason is financial: it requires long-term, front-end investment by government bodies (mainly municipalities) on the expectation that they will be able to recoup the costs by selling building plots. But the downturn of the property market since 2008 has resulted in building plots being sold much more slowly and for less than forecast. In some cases, this has resulted in municipalities suffering huge losses that will never be recovered.