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In the vast majority of Dutch municipalities, asylum seekers holding a residence permit still have priority if they seek social housing, as do other vulnerable groups. Due to a legislative amendment approved by Parliament in 2016, this is no longer automatic. Municipalities can decide since last year whether or not to give priority to status holders.
Only four municipalities are currently considering modifying their policy, notes Volkskrant during a 186-guided tour of the 380 municipalities. Castricum has decided that asylum seekers will soon have more priority over other home hunters. In Medemblik, Stichtse Vecht and Westland, the same measure is included in the local coalition agreement. The newspaper's inventory shows that it is possible to change the rules in at least 26 other municipalities.
Alkmaar and Uitgeest have, in the opinion of the Volkskrant, tacitly changed the priority agreement, but have also made agreements with housing companies regarding the housing of tenants. In practice, nothing would have changed.
The then Minister of Housing, Stef Blok, wanted to prevent the foreclosure of the rental market with the measure. Municipalities remain responsible for the accommodation of people who can stay in the Netherlands. As long as licensees do not have an ordinary home, they stay in asylum seeker centers, but they are actually intended for asylum seekers still in proceedings. Municipalities and businesses can also, for example, build prefabricated houses or turn offices into housing for the holders of the status.
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