Bill to Remove Priority for Status Holders to the House of Representatives

Minister Keijzer: “With this bill, we normalize the position of status holders. It cannot be the case that people who have been on a waiting list for a social rental home for years are overtaken by people who have built up much less waiting time. Just like for other housing seekers, it should become normal for status holders to arrange their own housing.”

Status holders can still register for a social rental home, but must, like other housing seekers, build up sufficient waiting time to qualify for a home. Buying or renting a home outside of social housing is also an option, as well as shared housing, renting a room, or temporarily staying with family or friends.

To stimulate shared housing and accelerate the outflow from reception locations, municipalities will still have the opportunity for 1 year after implementation to give status holders priority in the allocation of rooms or shared living space. Furthermore, the government supports municipalities with various financial arrangements. Additional budget has been made available for the Stimulus Scheme for Flexible and Transformational Housing (SFT), which extends the scheme for 1 year (until 2027) and increases the amount per housing unit to better meet the needs of municipalities.

The bill is part of a broader package of measures to limit asylum inflow and alleviate pressure on reception facilities. Previously, the bills for emergency asylum measures and the dual status system were adopted by the House of Representatives. This imposes stricter conditions on family reunification. The government expects that this will result in fewer people coming to the Netherlands via family reunification and that newcomers will become self-sufficient more quickly.

The bill has been submitted to the Advisory Department of the Council of State. In the so-called follow-up report, the government provides its opinion on this advice.