Introduction of new squatting laws in Amsterdam

Eviction

All instances of squatting will be categorised as high, middle or low priority. Dependent on the category, squatters will either be immediately evicted from properties, evicted during a planned eviction or at a later date when there are enough police numbers to support the process. Roughly 200 properties will be targeted after 1 October 2010, including several entire complexes. Six rounds of evictions are planned for the coming year instead of the usual three. The first squatted properties to be targeted are those deemed to cause a serious nuisance to the surrounding area.

The standard rounds of evictions will still take place and an additional three rounds are being organised in order to minimise inconvenience within the city and make efficient use of police and justice personnel. In recent years, the police successfully evicted squatters from more than thirty properties in Amsterdam through large-scale operations. However, such a show of force is not expected to be required for all future evictions in the city.

Priority

The highest priority will be given to properties that were squatted while still in use. In the majority of cases, squatters will be immediately evicted from such properties.

Medium priority cases are those in which squatters moved into a building when it was already empty, but where the owner submitted a plan to bring the property back into proper usage at a later date. Squatters will be evicted from these properties during the standard planned evictions. Proper usage of a property includes plans to renovate, demolish or rent the building or allowing a significant number of anti-squatting tenants to make use of it.

Properties which were squatted once already empty and for which no plans for proper usage have been submitted will be given the lowest priority. The police will evict squatters from these properties dependent on the number of available personnel.

The ‘Amsterdam Triangle’ hopes that this system of prioritisation will stop squatters from being able to move back into properties from which they had already been evicted.

Punishable offence

The introduction of the new squatting law means that the owner of a property no longer has to go through the courts to obtain an eviction order. Providing an official statement to the police will constitute sufficient grounds for an eviction to proceed dependent on approval from the Director of Public Prosecutions. If large-scale police presence is required, the ‘Amsterdam Triangle’ will set a date for the eviction taking into consideration the priority given to the property and police availability. Those present in the property during an eviction will usually be arrested and prosecuted.

Solving the vacant property problem

The new law provides the City of Amsterdam with increased powers to fight the problem of vacant properties in the capital. The Amsterdam College of Aldermen will soon propose a new plan of action to reduce the amount of empty buildings in the city. Around 17% of office space in Amsterdam is currently empty and a large number of properties have been empty for a considerable time.