Dutch break long tradition as squatting made illegal

THE scene has unfolded countless times in the Netherlands: Young people break into an unused building, move in a table, chair and bed, and then tell the police they are now the official residents – with no permission from the owner and no plans to pay rent.

Yesterday, the once-respected Dutch tradition of squatting became illegal. It is the latest pillar of the country’s liberal institutions – such as legal prostitution and cafes that openly sell marijuana – to be abolished or curtailed as the Dutch become more conservative and rethink the boundaries of their famed tolerance.

In Amsterdam, the epicentre of the movement known in Dutch as “kraken,” or “breaking,” squatters demonstrated against the new law that makes their way of life punishable by up to one year in prison.

“Of course we’re going to resist: resisting is part of what we do,” says a young English-speaking woman at a “squat,” or occupied building, next to the Amstel River.

Most squatters declined to give their full names both for philosophical reasons and to avoid trouble with police or immigration authorities.

A study published this year by Amsterdam’s Free University estimated the number of squatters at roughly 1,500 in the Dutch capital, a city of 750,000.

Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan says he plans to gradually empty the city’s remaining 200 squats.

“Here and there squatting definitely causes problems for a neighbourhood,” he said.

Building owners can now argue that squatters are breaking the law, the mayor said. That would “bring us to take action, where in the past we might not have done anything”.

City officials say no major evictions are expected soon, however.

Property owners have also found their own ways to combat squatting, letting “anti-squatters” move into empty buildings in exchange for extremely low rents and ironclad guarantees to leave when asked.