Amsterdam to offer temporary housing to those homeless for financial reasons

Amsterdam teamed up with housing corporations and De Regenboog Groep to offer temporary housing for people who suddenly find themselves homeless due to divorce or bankruptcy, and cannot immediately afford a new home. They will be given a home at social rental prices for one year, to give them time to catch their breath, ANP reports.

For those who suddenly lost their home and don't have money to buy something new or rent in the free sector, it can be very difficult to find somewhere to live in the capital. These "economically homeless" often have few to no other problems, which means they do not qualify for social relief or emergency shelter, while they still urgently need somewhere to live.

"This group now falls through the cracks," Koen Westhoff, regional director of housing corporation Alliantie said to the news wire. And they are the people the municipality and corporations want to help with their project "Temporary Housing".

The homes made available to this group are homes that are set to be renovated or demolished, but will stand vacant for a while. "We only use houses that are temporarily available for this project. In this way we can help them without other house hunters on the waiting list having to wait longer for social housing," Westhoff said. 

The housing corporations expect that they can make around 200 such homes available per year. The homes will be rented at social rental prices to two people, who will be matched by De Regenboog Groep. The residents will sign a lease, but also make agreements about looking for a more structural place to live, and looking for paid work if applicable.

This project is partly funded by money made available by State Secretary Paul Blokhuis of Public Health in the spring for reducing the number of homeless people in the Netherlands.