RefugeeHelp - Dutch municipal shelter for refugees from Ukraine

HOUSING

Do you have questions about (finding) shelter or permanent housing? On this page, you will find information on what to do if you are looking for a place to live in the Netherlands.

Housing for refugees

Permanent housing

Municipal shelter

Staying with a host family

Leaving your host family or shelter

Housing for non-Ukrainian refugees

Pets

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Last updated: Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Municipalities are responsible for providing shelter to Ukrainian refugees. For this purpose, they set up emergency shelter locations, including empty office buildings. In many municipalities there is a great shortage of suitable locations. Therefore, the help of hotels is often requested. In this case, the hotel can provide food, drink and shelter.

You may receive less living allowance in the municipal shelter than you would at a host family. This is because the municipality may pay part of the living allowance in kind. In the form of food and beverages, for example. You can read more about this on the page about living allowance.

Please note: are you a refugee without Ukrainian citizenship and not under Temporary Protection? At the page Housing for non-Ukrainian refugees you can check your options.

I have a complaint about my municipality

Municipalities are responsible for the initial shelter of Ukrainian refugees. Do you have a complaint about the municipal shelter or about the municipality in general? Please report it to the municipality in question. For more information on how to handle your complaint, visit the municipality's website.

Have you filed a complaint but not received a response? Or do you think your complaint is not being handled properly? Then check the website of the National Ombudsman. This is an independent and impartial organisation that handles complaints about (almost all) government bodies.

If your municipality is affiliated with the National Ombudsman, you can also file a complaint there. If not, the municipality has its own ombudsman facility. In that case, check your municipality's website for more information.

Please note: the National Ombudsman is only meant as a last resort to help resolve complaints. Try to resolve it with your local municipality first before filing a complaint with the National Ombudsman.