Dutch housing protest unites all generations

Last month, more than 15,000 people in Amsterdam marched to Dam Square to protest against current housing policy. This marked the first time in forty years that people took to the streets to raise the issue of 'housing'.

The initiative for the demonstration, under the name 'Woonprotest' (Housing Protest), originated on the back of a beer coaster. This is indicative of the type of conversations taking place in recent years among young adults regarding the hopeless Dutch housing market. However, the age of those present revealed that the Housing Protest is not just a matter for the youth. Below are two conversations with some older participants.

Rutte's Fault

The first conversation was with a man of about fifty. "That the current investment climate has led to homes being traded as investment objects is one thing. However, there is also an active decline in the number of available social rental homes in the Netherlands," he points out. In the Netherlands, social housing is built, rented out, and managed by so-called 'housing corporations'. In the span of five years, nearly one hundred thousand homes have disappeared from this regulated sector because housing associations have been in dire straits for years. As a result, they find themselves forced to put homes from their portfolio up for sale. The protester himself worked for housing associations for more than twenty years: "The problem for housing associations is the landlord levy. That is an extra tax for associations that was introduced by the Rutte II government in 2014."

At the time, this measure was intended to meet necessary savings and fill the state coffers. Nowadays, however, it is a levy of no less than two billion euros that housing associations have to cough up every year. This therefore results in higher social rents and fewer social housing units. "Meanwhile, center-right parties in the Dutch political landscape are peddling the pathetic slogan 'build, build, build'," according to the protester. However, he was of the opinion that the social housing market must be restored first and foremost before concrete is poured again with gusto and Dutch biodiversity, which is already scarce, comes under even greater pressure.

Finally the youth

Secondly, a woman in her sixties takes the floor. She looked extremely delighted and spoke about how happy she was with the rise of young people who are finally making their voices heard. According to her, our society had been incredibly individualized over the past decades: "You see this reflected in the lack of broad-based activism among younger generations. Taking to the streets collectively for social issues is indeed useful. History proves that."

"Taking to the streets collectively for social issues is indeed useful"

For her, it was also the first protest she had participated in in forty years. Her previous demonstration dated back to the Coronation Riots in 1980. In the 1980s, there was enormous social inequality due to high unemployment and a housing shortage. That escalated into massive riots and one of the largest disturbances of public order in Dutch history, precisely during the coronation ceremony of Queen Beatrix. The woman said she could still remember sitting at home unemployed for the entire year as a twenty-something back then. "Going on vacation was out of the question, and other luxuries that today's youth experience were also unthinkable at the time," she concludes.

Peaceful protests

Finally, it is remarkable that this demonstration is proceeding considerably more peacefully than the one in 1980. Back then, people came to the demonstration with a shopping cart full of bricks. The photos of streets half-torn up and a massive squatters' movement appropriating houses embody the grim atmosphere of that time. After all, according to some, squatting is an important part of a fair housing policy. During the Housing Protest, attempts were made to squat a number of vacant houses owned by foreign investment companies. However, the Amsterdam police brutally suppressed these attempts. "Housing prices are rising steadily in Belgium too"

Recently, much has already been written and spoken about this urgent housing crisis in the Netherlands. Over the past year, the average price of an owner-occupied home has risen by no less than 18 percent. Housing prices are also rising steadily in Belgium, without any indication that they will fall immediately. In addition, various other factors play a role: gentrification, discrimination in the housing market, heritage tax, slum landlords, foreign investors flooding the market, people financially trapped in their homes who are therefore unable to downsize, thus blocking the natural flow in the housing market, and so on. The housing market is a complex issue, and it remains highly questionable whether 'build, build, build' is the only, or even the best, solution.

On October 17, it is Rotterdam's turn. The 'Woonopstand' (Housing Uprising) will take place there. Once again, a national demonstration for a radically different housing policy. It remains to be seen whether this will bring the different generations together again.