Permits for temporary housing up 43 percent

Last year, the Netherlands issued almost 3,300 permits for temporary homes, an increase of 43 percent compared to 2021, Statistics Netherlands reported on Monday. The number of permits issued is a good indicator of the number of homes that will be built in the near future.

Temporary homes can be built in a temporary location for a specific period, often up to 10 years. In the past four years, the Netherlands issued over 10,000 permits for temporary homes. Most involved new construction. The rest were to create temporary housing by renovating or transforming commercial space. Temporary housing is a big part of Housing Minster Hugo de Jonge’s plans to tackle the housing shortage in the Netherlands.

In the past, the Netherlands primarily built temporary housing for students. But in the past few years, there has been a sharp increase in permits for temporary housing for migrant workers, asylum seekers, and refugees.

Provinces with more residents generally permit more temporary housing. Noord-Brabant issued the most permits for temporary homes between 2019 and 2022 at over 2,500. Friesland and Zeeland issued the fewest permits at less than 200 each.

The average lead time from granting a permit to a regular home being delivered is approximately two years. That can be shorter for temporary homes because their requirements are less strict.