Lawyer Isolde Velthuysen said that the entrepreneurs have been looking for alternative accommodation in recent months, but that no suitable locations have been found in Haarlem. And if there are any, they are too expensive. Because one tenant has a contract that does not expire until the end of November this year, she believes that COA cannot start the necessary renovation before then. Then the other tenants can also stay until November, the argument went.
The COA does not agree with this. The building on Dreef and the building around the corner at Meesterlottelaan 301 must be renovated as quickly as possible so that a shelter can be established. And that renovation can only start when the building is largely empty. 125 refugees from Ukraine are already being accommodated at Meesterlottelaan. They move to another location to make room for asylum seekers.
‘Emergency care is becoming too expensive’
The COA wants tenants whose contracts have already been terminated to leave as of March 1. According to the COA lawyer, there is a major shortage of shelter places. As a result, many asylum seekers are in emergency accommodation, for example in hotels or on cruise ships. The costs will only increase if the building on Dreef cannot yet be put into use. And this means that the importance of the COA is greater than that of the tenants, the lawyer believes.
Judge Maarten Koenis will study the case and will make a ruling on February 18. It remains to be seen how the decision will turn out. But the judge did inform the entrepreneurs that terminating the lease is legally irreversible. “The problem being discussed here is basically your problem,” was his conclusion.