The controversial new plans of the Amsterdam municipality around housing could prove to make flat-sharing virtually impossible in the city.
If the measures were to succeed, renting a flat to more than two adults would require a specific license. Additional measures proposed include quotas on group housing in a given area, increased soundproofing standards, and the elimination of the so-called “friends” contract (meaning, more than two people in a given space will require individual leases directly from the landlord, yet following the same price quote as if shared by 2).
On Wednesday, hundreds of students stormed a council meeting to protest the plans claiming the rules would make it even more difficult to find proper accommodation in an already difficult housing environment. Landlords too, take certain issues with the measures specifically around the price limits.
Hundreds of students came to the stormy council meeting on Wednesday to protest against the plans. They say the rules will make it much more difficult to find a place to live and a petition to the municipality has been running since yesterday. The man behind the proposals, Housing alderman Laurens Ivens, has said “The amount of flat-sharing has grown enormously recently,” continuing with “I don’t think it that bad if a couple of landlords stop doing it.”
Currently, some 76,000 engage in a flatshare in Amsterdam.
