The housing shortage is an obstacle to a solution for asylum reception. Should we live smaller?
Where many Dutch municipalities are hesitant to accommodate asylum seekers and to allocate status holders a home, Utrecht is now opting for the flight to the front. For six weeks, all available social rental homes will be allocated to status holders. As a result, 490 refugees with a residence permit will receive a home in the short term. “It hurts for a while, but after that we can quickly return to normal,” said alderman Rachel Streefland.
The asylum reception has been at an impasse for months. Because municipalities do not provide enough housing, status holders have to stay in asylum seekers’ centers for far too long and they cannot start their lives here. Because they cannot move, there is not enough space for new refugees.
For months, State Secretary Eric van den Burg (asylum affairs) and the municipalities revolved around each other. The shelter was kept upright with emergency bandages. However, the problem will only really be solved if municipalities give everyone with a residence permit a home as soon as possible. The fact that Utrecht is now setting a good example in this regard is highly commendable.
The real problem, however, remains the severe housing shortage. As a result, there is too little support in society for the refugee policy, which gives the right-wing populist parties with their anti-immigration position the wind in their sails. If you, as a resident of Utrecht, have to wait more than eleven years for social housing, it is understandable that you are not happy with the arrival of status holders. It is not easy for the average alderman to explain that Utrecht residents have to wait even longer, because the municipality has to accommodate refugees. This dilemma only disappears when there are enough houses.
Utrecht promises to build 2,500 temporary social rental homes over the next two and a half years. It is hoped that it will work. This week, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) concluded that building temporary houses is more complicated than previously thought. Here too, finding suitable locations is complicated, and this is also due to the scarcity of personnel.
The construction of regular homes is still lagging behind. The nitrogen crisis is also making it more difficult to build new homes. The solution may therefore also have to be sought in the current housing stock. On average, the Dutch have a lot of square meters at their disposal, more than most other Europeans. There is therefore room to divide homes and thus increase the housing stock.
The position of the newspaper is expressed in the Volkskrant Commentaar. It is created after a discussion between the commentators and the editor-in-chief.