Refusing people with benefits or a criminal history from renting a home. It has been happening in Tilburg and Den Bosch for years, and the government wants smaller municipalities to be allowed to do this as well. Some people like that, as a tour by Omroep Brabant shows. But the law is controversial, it is said to be discriminatory and has little effect. Den Bosch has been trying to keep an Amsterdam homeless person out of the Hambaken district for over a year now, but the judge is now also getting involved.
The Special Measures for Metropolitan Problems Act (Wbmgp), also known as the ‘Rotterdam Act’, allows municipalities to refuse to grant rental accommodation to certain home seekers. In Brabant this happens in Tilburg and Den Bosch, dozens of people have been refused a house in recent years.
Don’t just refuse
The rule only applies in certain neighborhoods selected by the municipality. A home seeker who has lived in the region for less than six years and does not have a paid job, or someone who has ever been in contact with the police, may be refused. People with certain professions may be given priority.
Minister Hugo de Jonge now wants to expand the law. Smaller municipalities can also refuse tenants, and the group that can be refused becomes larger. This means that unemployed people who have been living in the region for a longer period of time can still be refused, and in addition to police data, municipalities can also look at data from enforcers and housing associations.
Human rights
Several smaller Brabant municipalities have shown that Omroep Brabant is sympathetic to this. In Bladel there is certainly a will to apply selective housing allocation, says a spokesperson. Goirle and Hilvarenbeek are interested, and this also applies to Helmond: “Here too, in some neighborhoods there are many vulnerable households together. Measures to take this into account in the housing allocation are being explored with the regional municipalities and corporations.”
Things are different in Meierijstad. The municipality is adamant: “We have no need for this. It does not yet appear to have been proven that the methodology has the desired beneficial effect and it is at odds with human rights,” a spokesperson said.
Discriminatory
That criticism is heard more often. Rabin S. Baldewsingh, the National Coordinator for Racism, wrote in a letter to the cabinet in 2022 that people are ‘treated unequally’ by the law: that is, discrimination. Researchers from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) also pointed out the risk of discrimination.
In addition, it appears that it is difficult to demonstrate whether the law actually works. This has been mentioned in several evaluations and studies since 2011. To get a better picture, Tilburg expanded the number of homes where the rules apply from 74 to 775 in 2020. But a national evaluation in 2021 and a new Tilburg evaluation from earlier this year still do not provide clarity: ‘The direct effects of the law are difficult to map out’, we read.
Still, continue
Tilburg nevertheless continues to support the method. Residents would rate their neighborhood better, the evaluation states. To immediately add that too much value should not be attached to this conclusion: ‘Although the figures are not representative, this development is endorsed by district professionals.’
Tilburg has refused four people in recent years, because many home seekers voluntarily withdraw when they hear that their background is being investigated first. The city council calls this a ‘preventive effect’.
Homeless denied
The number of tenants refused is higher in Den Bosch, where a total of 79 tenants were rejected between 2017 and 2022. That is not always easy: a homeless person in Amsterdam was refused a home because he did not have a job. He challenged the decision and was vindicated by the objection committee, which found the refusal unreasonable. The mayor refused again, this time based on old police data.
The case came to court in June and has now turned into a legal issue about the exact reason for the refusal. Because the case is not yet over, the municipality does not want to say why this person should not be allowed to live in Hambaken at any cost. The case has been going on for over a year now.
This article was created through a collaboration between Omroep Brabant and journalistic research agency Lighthouse Reports.
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In Tilburg, the neighborhood was divided in 2020 about refusing unemployed and criminals