Social housing waiting lists will only get longer in Amsterdam: Professors

The waiting lists and waiting times for social housing in Amsterdam will only get longer, according to professor Peter Boelhouwer and emeritus professor Hugo Priemus, both at TU Delft. The two professors said this in Het Parool on Tuesday. "The waiting lists for social housing will increase further, because every year fewer homes are available", Boelhouwer said. Last year there were a total of about 230 thousand social housing homes available in Amsterdam. That number is dropping quickly due to sale and liberalization. Over the past few years, the number of social housing homes leased to a new tenant has already declined drastically in Amsterdam - from approximately 13 thousand in 2002 to about 6 thousand in 2014. Both professors find it very doubtful that SP alderman Laurens Ivens will be able to reverse this trend, despite agreements with hosing associations and tenant associations. Priemus thinks that Ivens failed to take control when the opportunity was presented. "In the new Housing Act the municipality received a coordinating role, but the alderman did not seized the chance." According to Priemus, another factor in the increasing waiting lists is the growth of the groups of people who need social housing, such as asylum seekers with residence status.