Contracts for more than half of asylum shelter locations expire this year

The Netherlands shortage in asylum shelter space is about to get much worse. The contracts for over half of existing shelters expire this year, Trouw reports based on figures from the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA).

The contracts for 180 of the 326 reception locations expire in 2024. It mainly concerns emergency shelters in vacant buildings, sports halls, ships, and tents. Approximately 24,000 shelter places - 37 percent of the total - will disappear.

At the same time, the COA and government are battling with municipalities to create more shelters, and the number of people seeking safety in the Netherlands is increasing. The new asylum distribution law, with which the government obliges municipalities to do their part in asylum reception, should help create more space. But it can often take months to, for example, turn an empty office building into somewhere suitable for people to live.

A week and a half ago, outgoing State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum Affairs) asked provinces to extend expiring contracts or create new shelters to replace them. No one has yet responded, according to Trouw.

The COA faces its first deadline tomorrow. The court ordered it to ensure that no more than the agreed-upon 2,000 people are sheltered in the registration center in Ter Apel. Before the weekend, 2,200 people were staying at the shelter, Van der Burg said on Friday. He added that he was “not at all hopeful” that they’ll meet the deadline.

If they fail, the COA must pay a fine of 15,000 euros for every day that the 2,000 limit is exceeded, up to a maximum of 1.5 million euros. The money will go to the municipality of Westerwolde, which covers the village of Ter Apel.