Netherlands: The Housing Crisis in the Netherlands Only Applies to the Dutch

Here is a translation from an article in the Dutch-language blog, Cafe Weltschmerz. It is dated from last August, but is still relevant.

It concerns the lack of housing in the Netherlands, and the fact that Dutch citizens have to spend years waiting for affordable housing while asylum-seekers go right ot the head of the line for social housing.

The housing shortage is exacerbated by policies of the Dutch government and enforced by the European Union that limit the construction of more housing due to environmental concerns.

The problem has been a sore point for years, and don't expect help to be on the way with the recent ascension of ultra-liberal Rob Jetten to the position of prime minister.

The article is translated by Fousesquawk.

Paid, waited, ignored! Dutch wait, newcomers reside

8-24-2025

In the Netherlands, it is now easier for a refugee to get a residence than a native. Young people wait tirelessly for social housing, save themselves to death to purchase a home that each month becomes more expensive, and are forced to live well into their 30s with their parents because there is simply no other way.

Inflation makes everything unaffordable, and social housing is scarce. And then appears this report: "Qasim and Dhaahin Maddobe from Somalia, with their 15 children, are living off benefits in Weert. The municipality decided to provide them with, not one, but two 200-meter apartments. For the occasion, the apartments were built into one mega-apartment. 

Cost: 70,000 euros in taxpayer money. Oh yeah, the apartments were originally meant for a center for handicapped people. But that plan was shelved. The Madoobe family took precedence.

And then the politicians say that the Dutch should not complain. Because if you complain, you are "against immigrants" or worse: "racists.

But it is not about skin color or origin. It is about justice. How do you tell a young couple who has been waiting years for an apartment that there is only room, money, and priority for a family that has been here for a short time?

How do you tell a handicapped person that their planned center is no longer on the table because the community is making other choices?

The government endlessly preaches about inclusion, help, and understanding. But where is that understanding for the Dutch person who follows the rules, pays premiums for years, and time after time, falls by the wayside?

The Dutch are not racist. They are tired. Tired of waiting, paying, and being discriminated against. It is not hate that is growing, it is patience that is running out. And believe me: That is a border that you cannot endlessly ignore.

Solidarity is not a one-way street!