Author
The main forms of accommodation provided to beneficiaries of international protection are:
- Reception centres;
- Temporary placements; and
- Housing
Asylum seekers who are granted a residence permit are allowed to stay in the reception centre until COA has arranged housing facilities in cooperation with a municipality. When COA makes an offer for a house, the asylum seeker is obliged to make use of the offer of the COA in the sense that the right to reception facilities will end at the moment housing is offered.
Since beneficiaries are allowed to stay in the reception centre until housing is available, the law does not state a maximum period for the stay of beneficiaries in reception centres. The aim of the Dutch government is to have a maximum stay of 3.5 months in the reception centre after the granting of a residence permit.[1] Unfortunately, many BIPs wait longer than 3.5 months in the reception centre for housing. In 2022 half of the people waited longer than 3.5 months and still a lot of people are waiting longer than 3.5 months. There is a backlog in housing for beneficiaries of international protection. During the first half of 2023, the backlog consisted of 5,100 BIPs waiting in COA facilities to be housed by a municipality.[2]
On 8 January 2024, there were 15,342 refugees with a permit residing in COA reception centres.[3]
The right to reception ends on the date that adequate housing – outside the reception centre – can be realised. The notion of “adequate housing” is assessed by the COA.[4] Together with municipalities, the COA has the obligation to arrange housing for beneficiaries.[5] Two times per year, the authority lets the municipalities know how many beneficiaries they have to house. The COA matches the beneficiaries with a certain municipality.
For the housing of beneficiaries, the COA takes into account four placement criteria, which are:
- Education, provided that the study is location-specific;
- Work, provided that the beneficiary can prove that they have a labour contract with a duration of minimum 6 months and for 20 hours of more per week;
- Medical and/or psychosocial indications, provided that the beneficiary can prove that the medical treatment can only be done by the current care provider, or that a customized home is necessary;
- The presence of first-degree family in the Netherlands.
If one of these indications occurs, the COA tries to place the beneficiary in a radius of 50km of the municipality concerned. If the COA does not take into account the aforementioned indications and the beneficiary refuses the house on justifiable grounds, then a new offer will be done.
A beneficiary can refuse an offer for placement. The COA will assess within 14 days whether the refusal is justifiable. If the COA is of the opinion that the accommodation is suitable and the refusal unjustified, then the beneficiary is awarded a 24 hour to reconsider its position and to accept the accommodation. If the beneficiary continues to refuse the housing, then COA does not provide for a new offer. As a consequence, the beneficiary is summoned to leave the centre and the benefits granted by COA are terminated.
The country experienced a first reception crisis in 2015, due to the high number of asylum applications. It was therefore decided that beneficiaries who were awaiting housing could also temporarily stay at families and friends. The so-called Hosting Arrangement (“Logeerregeling”) was introduced. The scheme is still in place, being renewed during the last years. The Arrangement was last renewed in December 2023. The scheme is extended and besides status holders also asylum seekers in the general asylum procedure or the prolonged asylum procedure can make use of the Hosting Arrangement if they would like to stay with friends, family, or a host family. In principle, they can stay there for up to 3 months. In some cases, this period can be extended, if an agreement is reached with the COA. The agreement ends when the status holder obtains a house. The arrangement gives status holders aged 21 years and over an additional payment of, in principle, € 25 per week. However, as of 22 March 2021, the additional payment of the COA temporarily increased to € 75 per week, to encourage more status holders to access the Scheme. During 2023, the additional payment still consisted of € 75 per week (when a whole family makes use of this scheme, the first person receives €75, the second person of the family receives €25, the third €12,50 up to a maximum of €125 for a whole family). The conditions for making use of the Hosting Scheme (“Logeerregeling”) can be found in English in a short version on the site of COA.[6]
In 2021, reception centres registered a new shortage of places, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and partly to the generalised shortage of rented houses in the Netherlands. Since 1 November 2021, the so-called “Hotel- en accomodatieregeling” (Hotel- and Accomodation Arrangement) was introduced.[7] Status holders awaiting regular housing at a municipality had the opportunity of accessing temporary accommodation at the same municipality responsible for their regular housing. A temporary accommodation might be a hotel, a holiday bungalow or a B&B, and would host the status holder for a maximum of 6 months. After that time, the municipality must have found a permanent house/accommodation; in any case, the municipality would then become financially responsible for the status holder. First the arrangement was only open to single beneficiaries without children. The beneficiary also may not be vulnerable. The status holders remain entitled to the COA’s basic provisions, such as a weekly allowance and access to medical care. The status holder receive an additional payment of € 75 per week from the COA. The benefits granted by the COA will stop as soon as the municipality regular housed the status holder. The municipality receives a payment (€ 8,280 plus € 1,000 for guidance) for every status holder participating in this arrangement.
As previously described, in 2022 and 2023 there also was shortage of places at reception centres. In May 2022, “Hotel- en accomodatieregeling”(HAR), was therefore prolonged for 3 months, and the target group covered by the measure was extended.[8] The arrangement is now also open for status holders with children, status holders who still wait for family reunification and status holders who received a positive decision about there request for family reunification. The status holder still receives an additional payment of € 75 per week from the COA. If it concerns a whole familiy, the first person receives € 75, the second person of the familiy receives € 25, the third € 12,50 up to a maximum of € 125 for a whole family. The municipality still receives a payment (€ 8,280 plus € 1,000 for guidance) for every status holder participating in this arrangement. The arrangement was prolonged again throughout 2022. The HAR was supposed to continue up until 1 July 2023 only. Until then it was arranged that the HAR would continue until 2,500 status holders had left the reception of the COA by means of this arrangement. However, on 1 July 2023 the HAR was again prolonged and this time until 1 January 2025. It is now arranged that until 1 January 2025, every six months up to a maximum of 5,000 people can be placed in this arrangement.[9] The COA has the supervision. There are no figures available.
[1] Kamerstuk II, 2017-2018, 34775 VI, No 17,answer 595, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3tSWkrN.
[2] Kamerstuk 19637, nr. 1121, 3 October 2023, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3U1urIJ.
[3] COA, Bezetting, available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3rJ3vhk. https://www.coa.nl/nl/lijst/capaciteit-en-bezetting
[4] Article 7(1)(a) RVA.
[5] Article 3(1)(c) RVA; Articles 10(2) and 12(3) Housing Act.
[6] Explanation of the Logeerregeling available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3INAuIj.
[7] Stcrt. nr. 45592, 2021.
[8] Stcrt. nr. 12550, 2022.
[9] Stcrt nr. 16727, 2023.