Many families in Amsterdam are living in houses too small for their needs, while large numbers of older people live in homes too large to maintain themselves. To solve this issue and promote the flow of the housing market, the Dutch municipality has announced plans to expand its house swap scheme to provide more support to residents in finding and moving into more suitable housing.
The current scheme in Amsterdam, called “from Big to Better”, makes it easier for families living in overcrowded quarters to swap houses with older people who have more room than necessary and are looking for a smaller home. Residents who qualify for the scheme are given priority in the search for new housing and can keep their current rent if the new home is more expensive. They also receive an allowance for relocation.
Other households that do not live in social housing do not qualify for the relocation allowance. "The city is locked down," alderman for public housing Zita Pels told AT5 about the current situation in the Dutch capital. "We see that no less than 35 percent of families live in too small a home, while many elderly people indicate that they want to move to a smaller home. These groups can help each other, and we want to support them better in this."
A new “suitable living” subsidy scheme will expand on the current policy, allowing residents in mid-range rentals and the private sector to get support as well. Households can benefit from guidance and customised support ranging from financial advice to help with moving services.
While the addition to the scheme will help many households find better housing, Pels emphasises that it will not solve the housing crisis straight away. "There has been far too little investment in public housing in the past twenty years, which means that there are now too few affordable homes for people with a low income or a middle income,” she explains. “With this approach, we try to help everyone we can help, because that is also part of the housing crisis: every home counts."
With rental prices in the Netherlands likely to increase significantly in July, it will become more difficult for families to find a home that is both large and affordable. The scheme could make it possible for residents to move into a home within their budgets. “In Amsterdam’s social housing, for example, 12.000 families live in a house that is too small, meaning that the children have no place to do their homework,” Pels said in a press release. “If people can move on to another home more easily, homes will become available that are better suited to what other people need.”