Concerned residents Reinwardtstraat in protest against the sale of social rental home
Concerned residents in the Dapperbuurt protested on Saturday against the sale of a social rental home in Reinwardtstraat. Housing associations have already sold many houses there in recent years, the leeks of their sale. In the long run, residents will be able to live more in the city.
huhhe protest in Reinwardtstraat did not come out of the blue. Residents are increasingly resisting sales or demolition at the expense of the market for social rental housing, as the housing shortage is greatest. There are residents of Tuinwijck near the Muiderpoort station in saving their houses from the demolition hammer. If that had not happened, the number of social housing there would have gone down.
at least 20 percent of newly built houses in Amsterdam are intended for the free market, where, paradoxically, the vacancy rate has risen from 4 to 8 percent. This is partly due to the departure of expats due to the corona crisis, but also because the maximum rent that new residents are willing to pay has been reached.
The municipality took measures in February to secure social rental housing. There was great political support for this plan. New owners of houses for sale in East and elders in the city may only rent them out in the future after having lived in the house themselves for a minimum of four years. This concerns homes up to 512,000 euros, about 60 percent of the Amsterdam housing stock. The rule is imposed to protect starters. They often cannot compete with investors’ bids. The aim is to implement the new policy as soon as possible.
The situation in the Amsterdam housing market will also be high on the agenda during the elections in March