The national ombudsman and the children’s ombudsman have warned many Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands are living in increasingly unsuitable conditions and that children in particular are being neglected.

They are urging both the the government and local councils to take immediate action, reporting a sharp rise in complaints and say the dignity of the country’s 130,000 Ukrainian refugees is increasingly under pressure.

More than 110 Ukrainians from 70 different local authorities have contacted the ombudsmen this year.

Complaints range from a lack of privacy, poor facilities, and the need to share rooms with strangers, often in converted office buildings. Reports of forced relocations have also grown, as sites close and residents are moved to locations with fewer amenities.

“We’ve been living in a house with two rooms since 2023,” one Ukrainian told the ombudsman. “The council has now decided we have to leave one room and share the other with another family. I’ve told them that this will have a serious impact on my son, with no privacy, nowhere quiet to study and a negative impact on his welfare.”

Many centres have struggled for months to install kitchens because of complex regulations, leaving people without a place to cook.

Staff in reception facilities say they are reaching their limits, and the ombudsmen highlight the situation facing children in particular. Many, they say, have lived for years in unsuitable accommodation, receive little mental health support and follow education that does not match their abilities, leaving them “without perspective”.

Last week housing minister Mona Keijzer said she plans to close the accommodation facilities set up for Ukrainian refugees “as soon as possible” once the EU’s special protection rules expire in 2027.

Under the cabinet’s plans, the 135,000 Ukrainians in the Netherlands would be given three-year residency permits from March 2027, but they would also be responsible for their own housing and healthcare.

Critics say the plans, set out in a letter to parliament last week, are poorly worked out and do not take account of the current housing shortage.

Some 130,000 Ukrainian nationals live in the Netherlands and two-thirds are in work.

In October Dutch local authorities themselves warned about the “lost generation” of Ukrainians living in the Netherlands and the impact domestic political uncertainty is having on them.