The Advisory Council for Migration (Adviesraad Migratie) believes that the government should oblige municipalities to provide housing as a priority for status houders - the so-called status holders, i.e. persons who have gone through the normal asylum procedure in the Netherlands and received a positive decision.
According to council members, the country will only have a “reliable” refugee reception system when municipalities are required by law to provide reception places for all asylum seekers and persons with refugee status, and not just for Ukrainians.
Migration crisis
A report by the Advisory Council for Migration (Adviesraad Migratie, formerly Adviescommissie voor Vreemdelingenzaken - ACVZ) states that too many people who have already received a residence permit remain in reception centers for asylum seekers. Status holders cannot quickly integrate into Dutch society, while making room for newcomers.
The long-term stay of status holders in SOA (Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers) reception centers is primarily due to the lack of housing. At the same time, one of the key obstacles in the implementation of the state migration policy at the local level is the problems with the timely placement of refugees in municipalities. In order to stimulate the outflow of refugees who have received residence permits from reception centers, it is necessary to oblige municipalities to prioritize such persons when allocating housing.
big building
The central government should provide municipalities with long-term support to provide housing for certain categories of the population. In particular, structural investment should be made in the construction of housing for the "extremely needy".
However, unexpected news from the Association of Dutch Municipalities (Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten, VNG) was that the budget for one of the affordable housing programs was only half spent (the deadline for applying for participation is October 24). The program was focused on supporting municipalities in providing housing for such categories of the population as homeless people, holders of refugee status with residence permits, migrant workers, students and other vulnerable people.
The total budget for the program was 52 million euros. One municipality was entitled to receive up to 2 million euros in order to implement several small or one large project.
Interaction between government and municipalities
This year the municipalities have pledged to provide housing for at least 15.300 status holders. At the same time, the municipalities will try to accommodate 20.000 refugees with residence permits.
The number of places for accommodation of refugees is determined depending on the population of the municipality. However, some municipalities view the calculation methods of the Central Agency for Asylum Seekers (Centraal Orgaan Asielzoekers) as a non-transparent process. There is also a lack of active and frequent informing of municipalities about the number and composition of status holders who are to be accommodated, as well as about the expected moment of entry of their relatives. Such information can help municipalities make faster and more targeted choices between housing options.
Modular houses
At the end of August, seven municipalities in the province of Utrecht (Utrecht, Nieuwegein, Rhenen, Bunnik, Wijk bij Duurstede, Bunschoten and IJsselstein) entered into an agreement with the government for the commissioning of a total of 1500 modular houses (flexwoningen). Preparations for construction have already begun on a number of sites. The houses will be commissioned no later than 2023. They will be available to such categories of the population as students, status holders, and so on. You can find out more about modular homes in our articlewe also invite you to view our video review by flexwoningen.
Utrecht
The municipality of Utrecht announced in mid-July that virtually all available social housing would be handed over to status holders within six weeks to quickly catch up. However, the task was completed even faster than planned - in just four weeks. Asylum and Integration Advisor Rachel Streefland is very pleased: “Together with the COA and the housing associations, we have worked hard to achieve this goal. It's great that it worked out."
Amersfoort
Following the example of Utrecht, the municipality of Amersfoort will provide housing to status holders under the accelerated procedure from 1 November. The municipality is going to allocate practically all available and suitable social houses to status holders within six weeks. This concerns 145 people and about 45 households. This year, 87 moves are planned.
Born
Despite good results in the municipalities mentioned above and in some other municipalities, in some regions it is very difficult to find suitable housing. In particular, there is a lack of housing for status holders in Born: some of them are temporarily housed in the former Maria Mediatrix boarding school. Based on what the central government is currently requesting, the municipality expects around twenty status holders to arrive by the end of 2022. This includes ten new residents who will move in at the end of 2022.
Breda
In Breda, a former prison has become a place of reception for refugees, asylum seekers and status holders, which causes a lot of discussion in the media. In fact, the former prison complex (the domed castle Koepelgevangenis) in the city of Breda was built in 1886, and in recent years it has been used for cultural purposes. There are currently not enough houses in the municipality of Breda to meet the high demand from home seekers. “A lot is being invested in the construction of new houses, but so far there are none. Temporary solutions are currently being sought.", the municipality said.
Publication Date: 27.10.2022
