Vogelvrij Newsletter #1
Of course these news are not complete, we just collected the different things we heard about and the information we could find. If there is something you would like to see in our next newsletter or if you notice that we got some information wrong, send us an email! [Read More]
This year, October 1st marks the ten year anniversary of the Squatting Ban coming into effect in the Netherlands.
Much like what we saw in the UK following the criminalisation of squatting in 2012, the repercussions have been drastic for our community and our movement. We’ve been pushed out of city centres, drastically reducing our visibility and contact with the public outside our own community. The number of squats across the country has been divided by ten, and the legal risks surrounding squatting have risen. Perhaps most damaging of all, our community is sorely lacking in participation from a “new generation”. A large number of people in that age group are totally oblivious to the concept of squatting.
Since the squatting ban came into effect, homelessness has doubled. Simultaneously, waiting lists for social housing have grown enormously, the average waiting time being nine years. The total lack of affordable housing constitutes a housing crisis which, since 2020, is being referred to as a housing emergency. [Read More]
10 Years On! And you still can’t live in a waiting list!
Today, October 1st, 2020 marks the 10 year anniversary of the criminalisation of squatting in the Netherlands through the Kraken en Leegstand (Squatting & Emptiness) law.
Despite the law, kraken gaat door (squatting continues).
On the face of it, the law was created to end both squatting and emptiness. It has done neither. Buildings are still empty and for many people squatting remains a necessity. After all, it is not the existence of empty buildings that leads to squatting, but rather the lack of accessible housing.
Whether you are squatting, renting, or looking to buy a home, finding an available (let alone affordable) house is a struggle. [Read More]
Ban the squatting ban!
Since the 1960s, squatting has functioned as a mean of action to stress out a failing housing and vacancy policy: the reason why for decades a squatting ban was regarded as undesirable without any associated effective measures to prevent vacancy. Although squatting has been banned by law since 2010, vacancy and housing shortage have doubled in the past 10 years. And so people are still squatting. The VVD and the CDA do not see vacancies and housing shortages as a problem, but squatting is. At the moment, these parties are working hard for a change in the law to ensure that squatters can be evicted more quickly, without tackling the underlying problems. Because this law will put the legal position of squatters and precarious residents under severe pressure and will only further increase the historically high vacancy rates and homelessness, actions are taking place in various parts of the country today.
One-sided effectuation Squatting and Vacancy Act
Almost 10 years ago, the Squatting and Vacancy Act was passed, on the condition that not only squatting, but also vacancy had to be reduced. Whereas squatting has always been (and still is!) an important stick behind the door of pawnbrokers, from now on municipalities should play a more active role in tackling speculation on vacant property and impoverishment. Fines for structural vacancy, however, have hardly been imposed and thanks to the gigantic boost of vacancy management/property guardianship, it has only become easier for speculators to conceal vacancy under the guise of ‘occupancy through temporary renting’. [Read More]
On the morning of April 30 the New University Nijmegen opened the critical café Terecht! at Radboud University. This space will be a place where students, teachers and support staff can come together and discuss the role of the university. The New University Nijmegen is a movement proposing for an open, critical university for everyone. It is part of a broader national and international movement of students and teachers. With the opening of Terecht! we hope to make a contribution to the recent debate about the place of the university in society.
[Read More]
Solidarity action with all the arrested during the eviction of the squatted house on Tweede Walstraat 3 in Nijmegen on 27th of April!
There is always someone, somewhere, having a feeling that screaming out loud the words of solidarity sometimes just isn’t enough. This time, this feeling of unrest was present in Nijmegen. Embraced by the dark of the night, in the very first hours of 29th of April, we entered a police parking lot. As a result of this trespassing 5 cop cars and vans got their tires slashed. As long as the police continues abusing their power… Well actually, as long as the police exists, we will see it as suiting to try and destroy everything that makes their activities possible. [Read More]
