Law or no Law, Squatting Will Continue?

Since 2019, it has been determined that a housing crisis is underway in the Netherlands: rental and purchase prices of housing have increased dramatically. At the same time, squatting has been banned in the Netherlands since 2010. Experts claim that squatting can be an answer to the housing crisis. This thesis explores how the housing market and squatters’ movement are interlinked, and how the housing market crisis came about and why squatting was banned at the same time. It then examines how the squatters’ movement developed after the ban. This thesis examines the influence of the neoliberal turn on the Dutch housing market in the period from 1994 to 2023 and then how this turn affected the strategies and goals of the Dutch squatters’ movement. Reaction of the movement to legislative changes that banned squatting in the Netherlands is also discussed. This is done through the following research question: In what ways have neoliberal policies implemented in the Netherlands since 1994 until 2023 contributed to the transformation of the housing market, and how has this transformation influenced the strategies and goals of the Dutch squatters’ movement, particularly in response to legal changes and societal perceptions? This question is answered by looking at different laws and related debates that have influenced the housing market and squatters’ movement during this time. Next, interviews with (former) squatters and social media posts from squatter collectives will be used. Qualitative document analysis will be used for the laws and debates and the social media posts, and qualitative thematic analysis for the interviews. This study found that neoliberal reforms in the 1990s, aimed at reducing government spending and stimulating economic growth, drastically changed the Dutch housing market. Major changes included deregulation, privatization of social housing and the promotion of private home ownership. This thesis shows that the shift to a market-oriented housing sector has increased inequalities in the housing market, starters and people with low incomes were particularly affected. Moreover, the new laws favored the position of speculators and foreign investors. These developments had a profound impact on the Dutch squatters’ movement: over the years, the movement evolved from a means of finding affordable housing to an activist organization. After the squatting ban, the squatters’ movement evolved by forming larger squatter collectives and using different tools such as social media. The new collectives stand up for different social causes and injustices, the collectives use squatting to spread their message and attract attention.