The cabinet must once again give priority to refugees with residency status when allocating rental accommodation. This was stated in a report by the Advisory Council on Migration, an independent body that provides advice to the government and parliament on migration matters.
Refugees with residency status can benefit from rented accommodation, but for various reasons they are currently often stuck in asylum-seeker reception centers for a long time. To promote the outflow of recognized refugees, the Council made a number of recommendations, including priorities.
This priority agreement already existed before, but was abolished in 2017. According to the Advisory Council, the cabinet is therefore “sending the wrong signal to municipalities”.
The council also advises the central government, provinces and municipalities to invest more money in building flexible housing for beneficiaries and other groups in urgent need of housing.
The council also supports a “robust asylum system”. This can only take off if “municipalities are legally obliged to provide reception centers for asylum seekers” and the central government “finances this task on a structural basis”.
The Advisory Council on Migration has already presented the report to Secretary of State Eric van der Burg (Asylum).
