Trapped at your parents’ house: these young people ‘with backpacks’ build tiny houses from waste

Due to bad luck in life, they have fallen out of circulation. Divorce, chronic depression and a series of burnouts are the stories that brought them here to the site and factory of the Clean2Anywhere (C2A) foundation. All without a home of their own. “It is impossible for a boy alone who is also ‘sick’,” says 23-year-old Erik.

“Then I’ll build houses, I still won’t have my own place and I’ll soon lose my job,” is the sad summary that Jordy (28) will probably expect in the new year.

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He lives at home with his parents, in a shared attic room with his sister (24). Privacy is hard to find. “The room is separated by a curtain, a kind of textile wall,” jokes Jordy. But in reality, he’s pretty much through it. “You are registered with the housing corporation and that list is only getting longer. Hopeless.”

They have been embraced by the foundation and are taking steps in the right direction. “You get the chance to accept a job here. You don’t even have to show your CV or have had an architectural education, you just have to want to get started. You will develop while stumbling, that’s a big step the in the right direction to find your way up again,” says Edwin ter Velde of C2A.

Waiting 9 years for a home

He sees the young people desperately struggling to find their own place to live. And that doesn’t look rosy. “The waiting times have increased to more than 9 years in West Friesland,” says Hans Kröger of housing association Het Grootslag, which is having the batch of 16 tiny houses built.

There are currently more than 23,700 home seekers in West Friesland, according to the figures of the West Frisian housing corporations. “In 2022, the number of rentals will have fallen again, we expect to reach 1560 rentals. The success rate has decreased.”

“I received an offer for the last time in October. I was 645th on the waiting list,” says Paul. The 38-year-old ex-military ended up in a relationship breakdown, lost his owner-occupied house and has been living with his parents for four years now. “Back on a bunk bed, in the nursery. If you go back to your parents, you have no chance for the next 10 years.”

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One cause of the long waiting times is the locked housing market. Kröger: “A starter can hardly or not at all buy anymore. The flow is no longer feasible at all. The result is that we have fewer homes available to offer. And besides, we are currently building hardly any homes.”

There is a lack of land and the corporation is dependent on project developers. “Until recently, sales of homes went so well that people were less interested in talking to us about realizing additional rental homes.” Kröger is therefore very concerned. “The housing shortage is great for young people. It means that if you register at the age of 18, it will not be your turn until the age of 27.”

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One by one, the young people like to see themselves living in the tiny houses. “Absolutely, if we could put them down today, I’d go straight in,” says Erik.

Having her own place to live would be the last step for Mirjam (22) towards a good recovery. “I’ve been in chronic depression for a long time. […] I’m almost cured, but housing is the only thing that’s missing for me.” She now lives in a shelter.

Mirjam: “There are people who live on the street, and we all have houses here that you can easily enter. That makes me very angry and sad. We are going to fight for them to get there.”