Fortunately, you have all signed up en masse to refuse the rent increase and to issue a widely supported statement together. Locally, more and more solidarity networks and initiatives between tenants are emerging!
July 1 is just around the corner, and with it the start of the rent increase.
Order a poster from the Rode Lap before July 1 and hang it in your window to show that you refuse the rent increase or support our action! Take a picture and share it with #bevriesdehuur on social media to make it even more visible on July 1 that we demand a multi-year rent freeze to make and keep housing affordable again!
The standard letter for stopping your direct debit and more information about the action can be found via the link below.
General Members Meeting June 2023
Saturday, June 17, BPW members gathered in Center Moira for the first ALV of this year. We said goodbye to board members Abel Heijkamp and Joska Ottjes, and two new members Brecht van der Meulen and Tom Scholten have joined the board. We also reflected on the successes of the past year. Below is a small selection of this:
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- Growth and further development of local groups and residential consultation hours in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, The Hague, Leiden and Den Bosch. And start-up of new BPW groups in Utrecht, Groningen, Tilburg, Dordrecht and East Netherlands.Â
- More than 35 cases have been handled by the national mutual aid group. And several hundred residents are organized locally by BPW groups; from individual advice to neighborhood organizing.
- 140 new BPW members
The next ALV will take place on September 9 at 13:00 in Groningen.
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Extend the temporary leases of the residents of Mannoury!
40 young tenants of Mannoury (Koningin Wilhelminaplein in Amsterdam West) threaten to end up on the street. Attempts to consult with owner Aedes Real Estate have so far led to nothing. Their temporary contracts are not renewed, despite previous promises. Aedes Real Estate wants to exchange the current tenants for the next group of temporary tenants… to give them a 'chance' in this hopeless housing crisis.
Together with us, the residents have campaigned and engaged politicians and the media.
On June 7, we handed over our demand to Aedes: Offer permanent contracts to the residents of Mannoury! Also have at5 and rtl message about it.
After several inputs from residents, the municipality has called on Aedes for a moral appeal. We eagerly await the outcome of this conversation.
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BPW Rotterdam in Nieuwsuur about Vacancy
News hour spent in the broadcast of May 26, 2023 paid attention to the vacancy of homes and visited, among other things, the housing and squatting consultation hours of BPW Rotterdam. In Rotterdam, more than 6,000 homes have been vacant for more than a year (CBS figures here), but the municipality has no approach to vacancy. Despite the housing crisis and the housing shortage, most municipalities have no plan for tackling vacancy.
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R(ivieren)huis wants a home!
Dozens of temporary residents from the Rivierenhuis in Amsterdam are also at risk of becoming homeless by the end of this year. Three of the residents have taken action and demand housing security from landlord Eigen Haard on behalf of this group.Â
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Last week, the residents handed over their demands to representatives of Eigen Haard. However, they said they could do nothing.Â
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But the residents are not so easily put away and continue to fight! For example, they have asked council members to call Eigen Haard to account with an interview. BPW has also asked these councilors for structural changes. Such as restricting temporary landlords in renovation and demolition buildings and a duty of care for landlords.
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Also previously reported the watchword about the situation of resident Rob.
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Congratulations, the law on the flow of the rental market will be abolished!
As BPW, we have warned for years about temporary leases. We fought against it, lobbied and for it fought. Housing struggles from the bottom up help! In 2014 and before that, the BPW already warned about the results of the law on the transfer of the rental market and the negative effects of temporary leases.
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However, there are still many exceptions. People who are going to live together and therefore have a home that they do not want to leave yet, can temporarily rent it out. Private landlords can also use rental to a family member as a ground for termination. Old temporary rental variants, such as youth contracts, campus contracts, contracts for large families, anti-squat, short stay and interim rental, will also continue to exist with the amended law. The law now goes to the First room.Â
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Despite the fact that the housing security of one group (middle class) is exchanged for the preservation of other precarious forms of housing, this abolition leaves a taste for more! Time to fundamentally embed our right of residence in all aspects of housing policy.
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National Strategy Day Rotterdam
The national Strategy Day took place in Rotterdam on 13 May. There were various workshops, including 'Demonstration and arrest law' by arrestantengroep.org and 'How to politicize the Housing Struggle', in which all elements of the BPW action method were discussed. In the evening, the day was festively concluded with food and live music.
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Mustapha gave a short introduction to the 'Seven key characteristics of the right to housing' and together approx. 30 members entered into a discussion based on a number of questions and statements by moderator Jochem.
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On the Brainstorming Wall, participants could position their themes on the axes from short to long term and from core to side issue. For a detailed report on the Strategy Day, please send an email to contact@bondprecairewoonvormen.nl.
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Not yet a member, but do you also want to support the fight for housing security? Become a member of the Bond Precarious Housing Forms now!
BPW writes an article about container homes - share your experiences!
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