Mini-topia: Going Small and Temporary to Solve the Housing Crisis in The Netherlands

25 July 2024

The Netherlands has responded to the housing crisis with some great innovation.

One model that I especially loved was their innovative approach to semi-temporary housing.  By taking vacant land that in the short to medium, term has no use, the Netherlands Government makes this land available at close to very low cost (from about 320 euros or $500 a month) for semi-temporary housing.  By semi-temporary, I mean 15 to 30 years.

I did a site visit to one of these temporary housing locations – Buurtschap te Veld (which means living together in the green) a new residential area in Eindhoven North with advisor to the Netherlands Government Peter de Groot.

In Buurtschap te Veld they have given a new and contemporary interpretation to a hamlet, where the aim is that residents are connected to each other and to the landscape. Within the new residential area there is room for 100 quirky forms of housing with a footprint of max 50 m2 (and 100 m2 max floor space). Residents can decide what these look like here from building their own small home to placing a ready-made home, such as a Tiny House.

Walking around the site we saw young families, newly single parents, young people, and retirees, all making use of an affordable option to rent, buy, or even build on this very affordable land.

All the housing was built to be able to be moved and relocated when required.  In this case in the land was set aside for a possible freeway interchange at a future point in time.

The location was nothing flash, a weedy, damp place but it was full of innovative and diverse housing, all of which could be loaded onto the back of a truck when needed.

In crisis is opportunity – if we take it.

WHAT DOES IT COST?

As soon as you have been selected as a new resident of Buurtschap te Veld, there’s a once off € 500 entry fee , which is for the organization and administration costs.

Then there is land rent which depends on the size of your home.

Homes up to 35 m2 are € 312 ($AUD500) per month.

Homes up to 55 m2 € 364 ($AUD590) per month.

Homes up to 100 m2 € 416 ($AUD675) per month

Mini-topia: Going Small and Temporary to Solve the Housing Crisis in The Netherlands – Brad Pettitt