Start This is how long it takes to wait for a home in the Netherlands
This is how long it takes to wait for a home in the Netherlands
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Do you have an asylum residence permit in the Netherlands and are waiting for a home? It can take months or even longer than 1 year before the municipality has a home for you. In this article you will read why this is so.
There are not enough houses for everyone in the Netherlands
By 2023, there was shortage of a total of 390,000 homes. The shortages are greatest in the social rental sector. As a result, people have to wait a long time before finding social housing. Also, because of the shortage, the prices to rent or buy a home by yourself have become very high.
Several groups of people are affected by this, but especially the low-income people waiting for social housing. These are people in the Netherlands such as:
Students looking for a room or appartment
People who are just starting to work and want to own their own home
Young families in need of a larger home
Older people who want to live in smaller homes
Even if you have received an asylum residence permit, you are affected by this. Because if you get an asylum residence permit, you are entitled to social housing. Actually, the municipality should arrange a home for you within 12 weeks after you get a residence permit. But due to the shortage of home, this does not work out.
According to 
This decides how many homes a municipality must arrange for people with an asylum residence permit
Every year, the Dutch Ministry of the Interior in cooperation with the
How many people already live in a municipality. Larger municipalities should provide more homes than smaller municipalities.
How many homes are available in a municipality.
80 percent of municipalities did not arrange homes in time for people with asylum residence permits
For years, many municipalities have failed to offer housing to people with asylum residence permits on time. In 2023, more than 80 percent of municipalities did not comply with the task order. If municipalities fail to comply with the task order for too long, they can be fined for this by the government.
There is nothing you can do to shorten the waiting time for a home
How long it takes to get a home varies by region. So although municipalities should normally arrange a home for you within 12 weeks, this is not stipulated by law. As a result, legally there is nothing you can do to shorten the waiting time.
You can stay temporarily with a host family while you wait for a home of your own
If you already have asylum status and you are waiting for a home of your own, you can temporarily lodge with a host family. This host family can include friends, family, or even unknown people who open their homes to people with asylum residence permits.
Normally, lodging lasts 3 months. Lodging can be longer if you still do not have a home after those 3 months and your host family and you want to extend lodging.
