1/3 Michelle doesn’t know what to do now that a rental house under construction is being demolished again
24 future residents of Repellaan in Schaijk have become victims of a construction error. The entire complex must be demolished and rebuilt. What was actually supposed to be delivered in October 2023 will now only be ready in June 2025. Michelle, who is in a hurry due to a divorce, keeps awake at night because of this.
Michelle Siebrands from Schaijk stands with her back against the wall. The young woman is going through a divorce and has been living at a campsite for months. A nasty situation, where hope prevailed at first.
“I wanted to get some rest for me and my daughter,” she begins to say. “A place of your own, despite the enormous housing shortage.” And that even seemed possible. While she is still busy with the arrangements surrounding the divorce, she is told in April that she can get social housing in Schaijk.
“I was very happy, mainly because you can offer your daughter something.”
“I was very happy. Mainly because I can offer my daughter something. You even start arranging things for the house,” she reflects. Until she heard that the foundation of the apartment block had been laid too low. The construction company was going to use jacks, which they used to lift the entire building to raise the floor, but the construction site remained quiet.
“You think you have some perspective, but you don’t see anything happening. You drive past it every week, but you don’t see anything,” says Michelle. So it’s frustration upon frustration. “Until just before Christmas, all tenants had an emergency meeting at the notary. That the jacking was not possible, they had to demolish everything again and the delivery date was postponed by two years. Well, then your courage sank.”
“Every time I get an email, I’m shocked again.”
The young mother becomes emotional about it. When we speak to her, she is sitting at the table at her mother’s house. “The initial joy about that rental house has completely changed. You stand with your back against the wall, it feels further and further away. You don’t know what to hope for. Every time I get an email, I’m shocked again. What now? again, I think.”
So Michelle is fighting back tears. She is afraid. “I really don’t know where I’m going to go next. I’m here with a child and I’m in a tough financial situation.”
“What it does to me? You don’t want to know.”
Michelle is afraid that she will not be able to find a home and that she will end up on the street. “What it does to me? You don’t want to know. My situation is uncertain in all areas and this doesn’t help.”
She searches and sends emails. Ask acquaintances if they know of a temporary solution. She hopes for certainty so she can relax. So she knows it will be okay.
In the meantime, construction company Van Herpen and landlord BrabantWonen mainly say ‘they are working on it’. “But they can’t do magic either, of course. There is no discussion about compensation. Only about the expected delivery date.” And that is not until June 2025. Another year and a half to wait.
Below you can see what the apartment complex will look like. With the white button you can slide up and down between current and future situation.
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