Some 4,500 refugees with residency permits are still living in refugee centres because local authorities have been unable to find them homes, Trouw reported on Wednesday.

Last year, local authorities were able to find permanent accommodation for 18,000 out of 21,000 refugees granted leave to stay in the Netherlands, the paper says. It bases the claim on home affairs ministry figures.

Refugee centres have been shrinking as the number of new arrivals dries up, but the number of places has expanded over the past six months because of the shortage of suitable homes, Trouw said.

In particular there is a lack of housing for single people, larger families and people with physical handicaps.

Since 2017, local authorities have no longer been required by law to prioritise people granted asylum for housing but they are still obliged to provide enough housing for refugees.

There is a severe shortage of affordable homes in the Netherlands, and home affairs minister Kajsa Ollongren has backed building sector plans to build 75,000 homes a year by 2025 to fill the need.