Housing need is high

In the theme issue 'Good employees is worth gold' of Leiden INTO Business, author Dennis Captein puts his finger on the sore spot of the housing problem and its consequences. The housing shortage is high, and without Eastern European workers the Netherlands has a big problem... Housing shortage puts economic growth under pressure. The main causes are:

• Picking up in the housing market, resulting in fewer temporary housing units available
• Increased need for housing quality: higher demands for space and privacy
• Municipal policy: limited permission is given for new alternative sites

But, Captein argues, we now see that the number of decent homes for migrant workers is growing, and the nuisance as a result is decreasing. We are just far from there: there is still quite a gap to close. In the area between the four major cities, there is a shortage of as much as ten thousand homes for labor migrants.

"The realization of sufficient housing for migrant workers requires a major joint effort. From the business community, but certainly also from municipalities. The need is high, the economic importance is great, and so aldermen in our country must address the issue of housing for migrant workers more emphatically."

Continue reading at https://issuu.com/intobusiness/docs/leiden_lente2019/10