Local councils in Almere, Utrecht and several other towns are asking house corporations to build more rent-controlled properties to help cope with the shortage of affordable homes for refugees, the Volkskrant said on Monday.

And Eemnes, close to the wealthy town of Laren, is even considering building its own housing to rent to refugees, the paper said.

The government has been discouraging local councils from building properties specifically for refugees, arguing it could attract more people to come to the Netherlands.

However, housing corporation umbrella group Aedes says there is a structural shortage of rent controlled property in the Netherlands.

Some 16,000 refugees are still living in refugee centres even though they have been given residency permits. ‘

Asked about the plans by broadcaster Nos, officials in both Almere and Utrecht said both refugees and locals would be eligible for the new rent-controlled properties. It would not be right to open them to just refugees, the Almere spokesman said.