Refugees were allocated 6% of social housing in 2021

Despite claims that refugees with residency permits are being given priority in social housing, they accounted for just 6% of new rent-controlled housing corporation tenants in 2021, according to research by national statistics agency CBS. 

That year, 169,000 housing corporation homes became available for new tenants and just under 10,000 were allocated to refugee families, the CBS said.

Some 32% of the refugee households that moved into a rent-controlled home had children, compared with 7% in the rest of the new tenant population. Just under half were single and just over 1,000 were single parent families.

There were, however, strong regional differences. In Alkmaar, central Limburg and the Zeeland border area, 8% of available housing corporation homes went to refugees with a permit. In Delfzijl, in the far north, just 2%. 

Rightwing parties in the Netherlands have said repeatedly that refugees are given preferential treatment when it comes to finding housing and have pledged to take action. 

In total, some 16,000 refugees with a residency permit are still living in centres meant for new asylum seekers because of the lack of available housing.