Groningen: Kraaienest court case, solidarity demonstration in Leeuwarden

Tuesday may 31st at 10:00 we will have our court case in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. We want to invite all our friends, fellow squatters, comrades and supporters to a demonstration in front of the court at Zaailand 102. After the court case we are organizing a concert night (punk, techno and more!) for our supporters and friends in Kraaienest. So extra reason for all the Randstad friends to travel to the north!

On january 28 we won our court case that was requested by Stichting Valquest. That was and is an important victory for the squatting movement! They now went into higher appeal, still for a speed eviction.
There is clearly no urgency to evict homeless young people who are trying to create an accessible social space in a gentrifying world. We know squatting is direct action against capitalist property values, and the courts protect those again and again. Is monetary value and real estate more important for them than improving lives in a concrete way? Still, in the Wet Kraken en Leegstand there is an attempt to prevent illegitimate vacancy, which would be the case in the Heerenhuis. Joshua Camera (under his strawman companies) wants to speculate to make even more money, like the logic of capitalism demands. We prefigure a world without exploitation and oppression. [Read More]

Netherlands: Actions against the ban on squatting

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]

Netherlands: Actions after 10 years of squatting ban

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]