No matter the crisis, there’s always a ‘businessperson’ making loads of money from the situation
Translated by Thomas Ansell
There’s a huge housing crisis in a big Northern Dutch city. No, not Groningen (ok, yes, Groningen) but also Leeuwarden! No fear, though, because the mega-mind behind the ‘temporary’ shipping container homes in Groningen (still there after three years) thinks that more of his temporary dwellings could solve Leeuwarden’s problems too.
Eric Kooistra, who owns a company with about 1,100 container ‘homes’ in stock, has just installed 265 on the Planetenlaan in Leeuwarden. “I think that this is a good temporary solution to the problem”, says Kooistra, reports the Omrop Fryslân.
In any case, says Kooistra, the Gemeente isn’t yet bothered by its homeless student problem. “The Hogeschools don’t think that it is their task, and the Gemeente is busy with other issues; for example housing people with asylum in the Netherlands, and new arrivals.”
The Dutch housing crisis is so acute that Kooistra’s company has had interest from “Vlaardingen, Delfzijl, and Den Helder- it’s really busy for us.” Meanwhile, aide from the ‘temporary’ shipping container houses in Groningen (now between 600 and 700 euros per month to rent), there’s also 230 of the ‘homes’ in Enschede.
Photo by Teng Yuhong on Unsplash
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