It is clear that the municipalities are in general very reluctant to force owners towards action regarding their vacant property. I think politicians could do more to address this issue.”. Of course squatting occurs whether it is declared legal or illegal, and we only have to look around the world to see huge numbers of people living in informal settlements. Here is a selection of articles, news and features you may also like. Nevada’s rebounding housing market may turn high profits for developers, but the competition is leaving some buyers in the dust. Redeploying the huge amount of empty office space is the solution. When rentals do open up, private investors and associations often sell the properties to private buyers instead of re-renting, or they demolish the buildings because they’re too old, Marijn Snijders, managing director of Capital Value, explains. The government published a report evaluating a law realised in October 2010 which both criminalised squatting and suggested a few paltry measures to combat building vacancy (see “From Convicting to Condoning: Evaluation of the Squatting and Vacancy Act” [Dutch]). Others were fined and yet more received community service, bringing the total figure to 311 as shown in the table below: The total of 311 being larger than the figure of 210 convictions can be explained by people receiving fines in addition to other penalties. Parental loans to help children buy a place of their own are tax-free up to 100,000 euros ($106,000). You could call it premature seller’s remorse. From design challenges to startups, the Dutch are developing a wave of gender-neutral public toilet solutions. Currently, one third of Dutch people think the financial crisis that began in 2008 is over, while for around one fifth of the population, it is even going well. A homeless person sleeps on the Edith Cavell Memorial in London on May 22. House prices in the Netherlands have risen significantly in the last few years. “There seems to be no vision on the housing market right now among those in power or those who might be in power soon,” warns Christian Lennartz, senior housing economist for Utrecht-based RaboResearch. Anecdotally, it seems that whilst there are probably less squats now than there were ten years ago, many still exist, with new places being occupied. The number of Dutch residents living suboptimally, according to Snijders, is around 350,000. Since 2009, the number of social security recipients too young to claim old age pensions has risen strongly. Brazil Today, there are still many empty buildings and thus squatting continues. These days, “similar apartments are sold the day they are listed for 35 percent more,” she complains. Serbia And, short term, the problem isn’t going to get better. The housing market has recovered on the surface, but big changes could be in store. Belgium We are in a situation in which different voices calling for more stringent regulation of vacancy, yet nothing much is happening. On the other hand, they are more successful when it comes to finding a new job. What is staggering is that more people do not squat, instead of entering into bogus deals such as anti-squat in which they sign away all their tenancy rights. Basque Country European countries rushed to house the homeless during the coronavirus crisis. For example, the Wilde Heisteeg was squatted in Amsterdam and then evicted in 2011 under the new law. Cleaning up the mess, The evaluation report states that at the end of 2014, the level of emptiness of office space across the Netherlands is running at 17% (with 10% empty for more than three years). According to them, the rest of the Netherlands does not think the crisis is over, with one fifth finding it even worse. The agency's latest status report says that the economic situation is still fragile, with the recovery coming to a virtual standstill in the last few months as improvements and deteriorations almost cancelled each other out. There is an urgent need for housing, especially with the increased demand from migrants. According to CBS, however, this last increase is not corroborated by the unemployment rate, which increased in April and remains high at 8,7 per cent. However, it is common for there to be a lull in activity following the imposition of a changed legal situation and equally common for there to be an upsurge when practitioners realise the chance of punishment is in fact rather low. It then stood empty for 5 years, before being resquatted in 2016. As the Amsterdam police commissioner himself commented, this is nonsense, since some individual housing corporations have made 12 complaints in a single year. For now, “people just suck it up and try to work with the system,” says van Lieshout, the Amsterdam writer. Please visit the website of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, KVK. The house price boom in Holland continues strong, with rising demand,and supply shortages. Ahmed Aboutaleb, mayor of Rotterdam, is hugely popular despite being the ultimate political outsider. United Kingdom Christian Lennartz, senior housing economist, RaboResearch. Catalonia This is outrageous yet strangely has not received much in the way of comment. House prices are rising, consumer confidence has improved (to nearly 0, which means it is no longer negative), the private sector is investing more and entrepreneurs are not planning further staff cuts. Seven Dutch universities in top 100 of THE World Rankings 2021, BREAKING: New national face mask advice from Prime Minister, Stricter coronavirus measures announced for the Netherlands, Unicef: The Netherlands is the best place to raise a child, Extra coronavirus measures for Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.