Another 21,200 people should get a home in the first half of 2023 | Currently

Municipalities must absorb 21,200 status holders in the first half of next year. The Cabinet announced this on Friday. This figure comes on top of the more than 20,000 residency holders that municipalities have to provide a home for before the end of this year.

21,200 status holders are former asylum seekers who obtained a residence permit between July 2022 and (expected) March 31, 2023. Municipalities must help them find a home in the first six months of 2023.

They are entitled to a house, but due to the lack of housing, among other things, more than fifteen thousand residence holders are forced to stay in asylum seekers’ centers. Partly because of that, as well as the arrival of many new asylum seekers, there has been a significant shortage of reception places in asylum seeker centers for some time. As a result, the asylum chain has been under severe pressure for a long time.

Of the 21,200 residency holders, one hundred are Dutch-Afghan evacuees. They are currently accommodated temporarily in hotels, but are also entitled to a home. The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for this group.

In March 2023, the government will examine whether the number of permit holders to be accommodated should be increased or adjusted downward next year, as the Cabinet now expects. If this is not possible, then the additional required places will be added to the tasks of the second half of 2023.

The goal is almost not achieved

The number of permit holders to be accommodated in each municipality is determined twice a year, but this is almost never achieved. The government published its latest housing overview for permit holders on September 1. This indicates that 315 of the 344 municipalities still had a backlog before the end of this year. This relates to the residence of 10,343 residence permit holders.

The municipalities concerned believe that they can assist 4,990 residents before 1 January. Backlog is automatically transferred and added to the number of people to be accommodated for the following year.

The target for the second half of this year was originally set at 13,500 status holders. In an asylum agreement at the end of August, the Cabinet increased this number to more than 20,000 residence holders. This asylum deal contains a large number of agreements to get out of the asylum crisis, such as preventing family reunification for beneficiaries. The deal is politically sensitive, as well as within coalition parties.