Living in a box: Housing a key election topic for young Dutch

AMSTERDAM - Living in a 20 sq m container house on an old sports ground north of Amsterdam, Mr Youri Hermes considers himself lucky: At least he has a roof over his head.

Many young people in the Netherlands “don’t have that luxury”, said the leadership coach, as a crippling housing crisis shapes up to be a key topic in Nov 22’s knife-edge election, especially with the youth vote.

Mr Hermes, 26, lives with 540 other young people, half of them refugees with residence permits, in one of the “Startblokken” (Starting Blocks) facilities that have sprung up in the Netherlands to ease the housing shortage.

The Startblokken project started in 2015 using refurbished metal shipping containers.

Now, for around €400 (S$585) per month, those aged between 18 and 27 can rent a studio within striking distance of Amsterdam, in a “container house” made of wood and recycled materials.

The studios each have a small kitchen and bathroom, and are stacked on top of one another in large blocks.

The maximum rental period is five years.

Project manager Arnold Hooiveld said he gets “hundreds of applications” every time a studio becomes available.

“There is a huge shortage of housing in Amsterdam. This is one of the solutions,” Mr Hooiveld added.

The complex was conceived to encourage young people from all walks of life to live together.

Construction engineering student Junia Kersten, 29, said: “For me, the multicultural aspect is important – living with people of the same age, from different backgrounds.

“You sometimes have the feeling you’re living in a big house with your brother and sister. You can knock on anyone’s door.”

‘Disastrous’ situation

But the Starting Blocks project is a drop in the ocean of the Dutch housing crisis.

The Netherlands needs around 400,000 more houses, said Mr Marc van der Lee, spokesman for the Dutch Association of Real Estate Agents, with demand “continuing to rise”.

With just under one-fifth of the Netherlands standing on reclaimed land, space is at a premium in the country, which is one of the world’s most densely populated.

Adding to the crisis is a growing population, rising immigration and smaller family units, said Mr van der Lee.

Red tape is not helping, with new housing permits often taking 10 years to come through.

And the country’s top administrative court, the Council of State, has nixed major construction projects due to nitrogen emissions.

“When there’s a shortage, prices rise. It’s difficult” for young people in the Netherlands, said Mr van der Lee.

The average house price in the third quarter of 2022 was €422,000, he said, adding that the situation for young people in some of the major cities was “disastrous”.

A report on the state of the Dutch housing market last week said that to buy an average house, an annual income of more than €80,000 – twice the median – was required.

Mr Hermes said a monthly rent of up to €1,500 for a single person in Amsterdam is normal.

Cheap social housing is available, but the average waiting list is more than 13 years, according to official figures.

Students, in particular, are finding it tough, with some forced into squatting or living on campsites or in hostels.

Others have moved in with pensioners who have a spare room.

‘Pleasant and affordable’

The issue is one of the crunch battlegrounds in the Nov 22 election.

A survey of 38,000 people by broadcaster RTL found that the housing crisis was the top election topic, especially among young people.

The centre-right VVD, currently leading the polls, has pledged to build “hundreds of thousands of houses so that pleasant and affordable housing is again possible for everyone”.

The New Social Contract party, which has come from nowhere to challenge for power, promises 350,000 new houses.

A left-wing Green/Labour coalition pledges more houses too, but also proposes a cap on rental prices and more social housing.

Parties on the right have stressed that a reduction in net immigration to the Netherlands is needed, partly to improve the housing situation.

Mr Hermes said that among people of his generation, housing was the key issue in determining their vote.

The link between immigration and the housing shortage was a difficult question, he said, especially for people like him whose friends and neighbours are often refugees.

“Of course, we are dealing with a lot of people from different backgrounds.

“At the same time, we are battling with the housing crisis. This is very difficult to reconcile,” he added. AFP