The Netherlands is the second most densely populated country in Europe, and with surging mass immigration, has been experiencing a raging housing crisis for years.
However, despite this crisis, refugees can gain access to social housing in a mere 14 weeks, while the average Dutch citizen must wait up until 12 years. Now, efforts are being made to right this injustice for Dutch citizens with a new bill, but Council of State, the country’s highest legal advisory body, is criticizing any attempt to block housing access to refugees. The authority claims refugees should receive equal treatment, as required by the Dutch constitution.
Of course, the fact that there is no equal treatment currently, and that refugees are gaining access to social housing years before Dutch on waiting lists, does not appear to factor into the Council of State’s concerns, according to Dutch news outlet NOS.nl.
The minister behind the proposal, Mona Keijzer of the BBB party, says she is not backing down. Keijzer’s plan aims to create more affordable housing by ensuring that refugees, or “status holders,” no longer receive priority for housing solely because of their status
The Council of State argues that the proposal leads to unequal treatment, which is “contrary to the Constitution.” The Council has advised the cabinet not to submit the bill to the House of Representatives.
However, Minister Keijzer is not swayed by the advice.
“That’s kind of how the discussion is conducted in the Netherlands. And that’s a shame,” she said. Regarding the “unconstitutional” judgment, she stated, “The Constitution is not mathematics, it also states that I must take care of public housing for Dutch people.”
Arguments for and Against Priority Status
According to the Council of State, status holders have “an unfavorable starting position on the housing market” because they can only register for a home after arriving in the Netherlands, placing them at the bottom of waiting lists. The Council writes that while the government has proposed other measures to help status holders, it is “unrealistic” to expect them to have a timely effect, so “Permit holders therefore remain behind.”
Keijzer counters that the opposite is true, arguing that Dutch citizens are the ones currently at a disadvantage.
She noted that status holders are entitled to social housing after just 14 weeks, while the waiting lists for other home seekers can be more than 12 years.”
Treating equal cases cannot result in Dutch home seekers being treated unequally,” she said.
“Dutch people in their twenties and thirties live with their parents in the attic or share an apartment with two or three people,” she said on EO radio in August.
She believes that status holders should be expected to find housing in the same ways as other citizens, such as living with family or getting help from their employer.
“We also ask that of Dutch home seekers,” she said. The reception organization COA reports that on average, 6 to 10 percent of released social housing units go to status holders.
Keijzer said she would study the Council of State’s advice but maintained her position, saying, “But I am convinced that the ban on priority for status holders should be introduced.”
Keijzer’s proposal is different from another plan from the far-right PVV party, led by Geert Wilders, which seeks to completely prevent asylum seekers with residency from getting emergency housing declarations, even in cases of homelessness or domestic violence.
While that PVV plan has been adopted by the House of Representatives, Keijzer has stated that she intends to delete it because she believes it is discriminatory and “legally untenable.”
Of course, any real talk of restricting immigration is absent from Keijzer’s position, despite the Netherlands spending an estimated €400 billion on migrants between 1995 and 2019.
The country is not the only one facing a housing crisis, in part due to large waves of migrants. Neighboring Germany is also dealing with the same issue. In 2024, the country spent nearly €17 billion on housing support, with nearly half of it going to foreigners, and even office towers are now being converted to house newcomers.
In a number of shocking cases, senior citizens have even been moved out of their accommodations to make room for migrants.
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