After the expiry of an ultimatum from HOD, the babysitting agreement for five residents in Den Dolder was terminated. HOD demands of them; either you pay the double rent or you have to get out.

HOD states that the five residents will have to leave their current housing at the end of August, where they only moved in January of this year. In February, HOD has the 'babysitting' fee (read disguised rental contract) has already been raised from 220 euros to 250 euros and she now wants to increase the rent to 430 euros per month via another flex contract (vacancy law).

According to the lawyer for the residents, Van Hulst, there is a rental situation. After all, money is paid for housing. The tenancy law therefore applies. Under tenancy law, the rent may only be increased once a year. For 2017, the maximum permitted rent increase for rooms is 1.8%

“This is typical behavior of anti-squat organizations, which abuse the vulnerable situation of home seekers,” said Abel Heijkamp of the Bond Precaire Woonvorm. 'If you can't find social housing, you will have to deal with these kinds of flex exploiters. We have many such complaints about HOD and also about other anti-squat agencies. This is a structural problem and part of a growing trend that we are signaling. Increasingly, extra temporality is built into temporality by connecting different types of flex contracts. This while the House of Representatives has spoken out against this. Despite outsourcing to HOD, Altrecht, as a healthcare institution, remains 100% responsible for the months-long housing insecurity of residents. We demand tenancy law and housing security for all residents, regardless of (flex) contract. Stable housing is a basic right. Tenants are not moving boxes that you can keep pushing another temporary contract and rent increases down your throat. This harassment just has to stop.”

Roderick, one of the tenants of the building, says ”I feel cheated, I had just unpacked the boxes and then HOD comes with this proposal. You should fuck off if you don't agree. That's crazy. I want housing and contract security. It is time for politicians to protect tenants against this arbitrariness.”

The residents indicate that they may accept another contract, provided they can continue to live in the building for the same rent until the building is redeveloped. At the beginning of this year, the municipality of Zeist adopted an area vision for the Altrecht site.

The name of the tenant concerned has been changed. If you want more information or want to support the residents, you can Contact record with us.