Nearly 6,500 flexible homes placed in Netherlands last year; Quarter more than 2023
The construction of flexible housing is gaining momentum in the Netherlands. Last year, 6,478 such moveable homes were placed in the country - 26 percent more than in 2023 and the highest number in five years, Omroep Gelderland reported based on figures from the Expertise Center for Flexible Housing.
“The construction of flexible housing is improving,” Wim Reedijk of the Expertise Center told the broadcaster. “But we want it to improve even more.”
Former Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge considered flexible housing a fast way to alleviate the housing shortage. These pre-fabricated homes can be placed quickly and temporarily in locations that are destined for other uses. At the end of June 2024, De Jonge hoped to realize 8,300 flexible housing units in the year.
About 1,000 of last year’s flexible homes were placed in the province of Gelderland. Provincial administrator Dirk Vreugdenhil is satisfied. “This high number of flexible homes shows that we are seizing all opportunities in Gelderland to tackle the housing shortage,” he told the broadcaster.
Putten is one of the Gelderland municipalities working on flexible housing. The municipality and the housing cooperative will open the first of 18 flexible homes on Bijsterenseweg on Monday. Alderman Bertus Cornelissen is proud, even though the project was plagued by neighborhood protests in 2021 and the overloaded power grid resulted in the city only being able to place one of the planned 18 temporary homes. The municipality expects a solution in the course of the year.
“The homes are perfect for Putten starters,” Cornelissen told the broadcaster. “With this, we are adding a residential segment that we do not yet know in Putten.”
Provincial administrator Vreugednhil also has high hopes for flexible housing. “Flexible homes have undergone enormous development in recent years, which means that they are of high quality. Anyone who still sees flexible homes as several stacked containers is completely wrong.”
