Amsterdam councillors from coalition parties D66 and GroenLinks, plus the opposition Denk and Bij1 have called on the city to follow Utrecht’s lead and prioritise refugees when it comes to allocating social housing.

Utrecht said earlier this month that all social housing which becomes available during a six week period from August 1 would be used to ease shortage of housing for refugees with residency status.

Some 15,000 people living in refugee centres should have been moved to regular housing, but the shortage of social housing nationwide is causing waiting lists to increase on a daily basis.

All local authorities are required to provide housing for refugees with residency status, depending on their size. Amsterdam should have housed 768 refugees in the past six months but has only found accommodation for 320.

City officials have not yet responded to the call. The waiting list for social housing in the capital is now up to 14 years.