He would like it if he could, Mayor Jos Wienen of Haarlem said last night. But as long as the Good Landlordship Act has not yet been passed by the House of Representatives, he may not just evict the student flat on Zijlweg to combat the bed bug infestation, for example.
The city council unanimously expressed its disgust at the conditions in the student flat last night. Especially when three tenants shared their experiences with. And this isn’t the first time they’ve sounded the alarm. Four years ago defendants residents too.
“It is still not solved,” said PvdA councilor Dion Heinis. “Can’t we as a municipality just take over the fight against bed bugs and send the bill to the landlord?”
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The (ex-) tenants raised these points with the Haarlem politicians yesterday
- Outbreak of bed bug infestation on third floor that is unstoppable
- Tenants must repair a tap themselves to be able to tap water
- Leakage in the basement where people also live, resulting in sewer stench
- A growing rubbish dump for the flat for a month that just won’t be cleaned up
- For many students with little money, no possibility to move even though they would like to leave. Some of them meanwhile just take the bed bugs for granted
- A grim atmosphere with a lot of stress and panic over the prospect of becoming homeless
- Unreachable landlord Van Huizen Makelaars
This summer, many students packed their bags out of desperation, such as Femke Schipper. The fear of getting her things infested with bed bugs has forced her to “coachsurf” with friends and family for a month now. Last night she shared her story, along with a few fellow tenants, with the councilors.
Hessel Pijnakker also left the flat earlier, he said in a report by NH Nieuws. (text continues after the video)
Abuses in student flat Zijlweg 245 – NH Nieuws
But despite the massive political support and also the understanding of mayor Jos Wienen for the ‘horrible situation’ (as he himself described it), the municipality is powerless. “It may not be nice to hear, but we can’t just intervene because there is no legal basis,” said Wienen.
That ‘legal basis’ is in the making. A few weeks ago, the ‘Good Landlordship’ bill was discussed for the first time in The Hague. There is still some work to be done and an effective date has not yet been announced. But with that law in their hands, a mayor can force a landlord to take measures.
Press the boiler
The only thing that mayor Wienen now promises to do is to have another inspection carried out on the basis of fire safety. And he will talk to landlord Van der Huizen Vastgoedbeheer. “I want to tell them that they can’t run away from their responsibility and tell them that once the law is passed I will act.”
The PvdA, the Action Party and the VVD – which revived the issue on behalf of the students – are happy that the mayor wants to increase the pressure in any case. And they call on him to talk to the municipalities of Utrecht and The Hague, where the pawnbroker is also notorious for poor maintenance of flats.
“Maybe there is a creative solution to deal with him before the new law comes in,” said VVD councilor Alexander Bruch.