Hundreds of people attended the housing protest on the Jaarbeursplein in Utrecht on Sunday afternoon. In addition to various speakers, including someone from the Woonbond and a former homeless woman with three children, many young people and members of political parties were present.
The demonstration is a ‘national protest for housing security for everyone’, is how the organization describes the effort. Speakers pointed out that people in Utrecht are on a waiting list for up to eleven years before they are eligible for a rental house. For a quarter of the tenants, the rent would also be unaffordable, which means that savings would have to be made on energy bills, for example, according to Zeno Winkels (Woonbond). According to him, the high rents and temporary contracts cause major problems and uncertainty, and they also offer ample opportunities for slum landlords.
‘Radical turnaround’
Stevie Nolten (Womens March) says that there is discrimination in the housing market on the basis of, among other things, last name, skin color or disability. As a result, these people, in addition to the growing group from the ‘white middle class’, have no (suitable) roof over their heads. On behalf of those present, Nolten demands ‘a radical change in housing policy based on equality’. In addition, the protesters want, among other things, that the landlord levy be scrapped and more investment is made in social housing.
Those present have signs with texts on them such as ’10 years of Rutte, doubling the number of homeless’, ‘you can’t live in bullshit’ and ‘even though I work 80 hours a week, I still don’t get a mortgage’. ‘Housing is a human right’ is a widely supported position among those present. The organization of the protest called on to observe the corona measures, such as keeping a distance of 1.5 meters. Many people wear face masks. After the protest on Jaarbeursplein, a march to the Lepelenburg park followed.
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