Another illegal eviction. Saturday afternoon we announced a new squat on Zeeburgerpad 22. Not much later we were forced to pack our bags and leave again. Thanks to the presence of a large number of friends outside, people inside managed to get away safely without getting arrested. But of course, no one is safe if they’re sleeping in the streets, so we’ll be back.
On the 18th of February, we made it public that we squatted Zeeburgerpad 22. Many people showed up to show support and protect the occupation.
We had already been inside for a week and had evidence of this. But as some of the members of our collective are in a vulnerable position we decided to force contact with the owner/ police by dropping a banner & speaking to the neighbours. It wasn’t the first time this place has been squatted, it was squatted in 2013 and again in 2018.
After the last eviction in 2021, some renovations took place but apart from that nothing much happened, the place remained empty. The daughter of the owner and Pablo ( the neighbour and owner of the company next door) showed up and provided us with some much-needed entertainment. [Read More]
Amsterdam: Evictions continue, Squatting will too!
Amsterdam: Statement about the illegal eviction at Noorderdwarsstraat 9
On the 24th of January, a squat in the center of Amsterdam got revealed by Autonomous Shelter, a squatted appartment on Noorderdwarsstraat 9. The same morning it got illegaly evicted.
This appartment had been empty since four to six years, according to the neighbors. The neighbours were all supportive, bringing us tea and chatting with us. The beginning of the action went really calmly. We provided cops with documents showing that we had been living there since the 21st of February, and neighbors told us they could indeed confirm our house peace if the cops asked them.
After over an hour of waiting we suddenly got the message that they would evict us and that we had 5 min to leave. 5 police vans appeared and suddenly 30 cops were standing in the small street. When we asked why they wanted to evict us they first stated “because squatting is illegal”. Only after, one of them told us it was for heterdaad, meaning that they claimed to have caught us in the act.
This is total bullshit as all our documents and the statements from the neighbors showed that we had house peace. [Read More]
Amsterdam: first squat action of the year, Spui 11
Yesterday, a new building was announced as squatted, a small manifestation was held on the Spui and flyers were distributed to the public. Police have been on site and said they were not planning to evict. The building housed the music store Hampe and Berkel for 179 years, last year they closed due to the corona crisis. The property will house people who would otherwise be homeless.
Some squats in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/NL/squated/squat
Groups (social center, collective, squat) in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/NL
Events in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/NL
Amsterdam: Court case Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 302, demonstration
Thursday 1st December 2022, demonstration, 18:00, Het Monument, Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 302.
Right now, we are housing four people. If we are evicted, they are without a home, and the Monument would be left empty yet again. Once again, Slumlord Hagedoorn would get get his eviction, while he leaves property empty all over the country. The past has shown that the authorities tend to side with property against the right to housing. Nevertheless, we’re ready to fight. We demand housing justice and an end to vacancy for financial speculation! Thursday, after our court case, we’re organising a MEGA demo. If we win, we celebrate the Monument. If we don’t, we’ll show that we’re not leaving quietly. Join our demo!!!!! [Read More]
Amsterdam: update Vossiusstraat 16 squat
Last Wednesday we heard the verdict of our court case. As many of you may have heard already, WE WON! This is not just great for all the people living in the Vossiusstraat squat and organising political events in it, but for the entire squatting movement and for everyone who likes watching (Russian) billionaires get their property taken away.
Volozh’s lawyer tried to claim that Volozh’s family plans to move into the building. In that case, why did they split the building into three different addresses? Why are there SIX bathtubs? Why does every floor have its own locks?
The renovations of the building were ruled to be unlawful. If we had not squatted the building, they would have continued their works undisturbed — as per their own admittance. This makes clear that at this moment, the sanctions are not actually being upheld by the Dutch government. [Read More]
Amsterdam: come to the court case for Vossiusstraat 16
CALL TO ACTION: Come to our civil court case and support the squat on the Vossiusstraat 16!
This Wednesday 9th of November 10:30 at Parnassusweg 280, 1076 AV Amsterdam. Let’s show the judge, the owner Arkadiy Volozj (who is a sanctioned Russian billionaire) and Wolfs Advocaten that there is broad support for the squatting of Vossiusstraat 16. Volozj’s involvement in the war will not go unnoticed. We will not be intimidated by the law or the rich!
The court case is publicly accessible. You can be present for the entire hearing, or a part thereof, to show support for the action. To attend the hearing you need to show your identification at the entrance of the courthouse, but your name will not be shared with anyone besides the personel of the courthouse. It is therefore not anonymous, we encourage those who do not feel comfortable identifying themselves to the court to show up anyway but stay outside in front of the courthouse as a solidarity protest. [Read More]
Amsterdam: building from russian oligarch squatted
Today we are announcing our new home at Vossiusstraat 16. The police just arrived! Come and support.
We purposefully decided to squat this building, owned by Russian billionaire Arkadiy Volozj. As everyone knows, the Russian army invaded Ukraine this year. This is just the latest in a list of Putin’s crimes, against Ukraine, against LGBT people, in Syria, and many more. With this year’s invasion, the Russian state is finally widely denounced as criminal, genocidal, and as an authoritarian state. Volozj, who founded Russian propaganda site Yandex, has been placed on the sanctions list of the European Union since the invasion, as the EU determined he “is supporting, materially or financially, the Government of the Russian Federation and is responsible for supporting actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”.
Yet this house was not frozen until a few weeks ago, because it’s owned through a company on the Virgin Islands. The billionaire’s lawyers contacted the government to inform them of his property here, but the government didn’t send it on to the department responsible for sanctions. Clearly, the Dutch state doesn’t see it as a priority to curb billionaires and oligarchs. National sanctions coordinator Stef Blok claimed that the Dutch housing market just isn’t interesting to Russian oligarchs. That’s obviously bullshit.
About 9000 properties in the Netherlands were bought through companies in tax havens. 6000 houses are owned by companies that through shady constructions are untraceable. In total, they own 10.5 billion euros worth of properties. It’s clear: There is no housing shortage, there is an excess of rich people. [Read More]
Rotterdam: a house in the Pompenburg flat has been squatted
There are new squatters in town! A house in the Pompenburg flat has been squatted by the anarchist collective RATS. It’s squatted in solidarity with the inhabitants of the Pompenburg Flat who are fighting against the demolition of the building.
The building which is home to hundreds of residents in 226 social housing homes was announced to be demolished in 2019 (and residents only found out by the newspaper!) for a 250 meter high tower developed by RED Company in collaboration with social housing corporation Havensteder and gemeente Rotterdam. The building, which was originally not in the redevelopment plans for the Pompenburg area, was campaigned to be demolished by the municipality themselves despite over 80% of the residents against demolition. These plans also call for the eviction and destruction of communal gardens in Park Pompenburg and the various community projects based in Schieblock whom are dear friends of ours, for high rise towers of mostly luxury apartments.
We stand in solidarity with the residents organizing and fighting for the last three years against backroom deals to demolish their homes. Sloop ons niet! [Read More]
Amsterdam: Housing justice now! Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 302 squatted
Sunday 23 october, rolling out a giant banner, squatters’ collective Mokum Kraakt announced that it has squatted four days ago Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 302. House peace is set, preventing the police to immediately evict. Here their public statement:
The city is cracking at the seams. The housing crisis is far from over. On top of that the energy and inflation crises are causing daily life as such to be unaffordable. At the same time, real estate investors, landlords and speculators are being pampered while mass tourism and gentrification are wrecking the liveability of the city.
The people of Amsterdam are succumbing under capital’s dead weight. Mokum is succumbing under the lack of space for young people, working people, poor people, refugees and old people. Mokum is succumbing under the stranglehold of the rich and the proprietors and the slow suffocation of alternative culture.
But Mokum fights back. We no longer accept that our city is for the rich only. That the economic and commercial interests of real estate owners are unassailable. That we can no longer give shape to our own city, its culture, the way that we live. And that living space is wasted on vacancy and neglect when most Amsterdammers may soon not be able to afford their flats, their energy or their food. [Read More]
Amsterdam: Squatted hotel Rembrandt evicted
Squatted hotel Rembrandt was evicted on the 15th of October 2022. The eviction happened after only a few days of occupation. According to the court the building was unsafe to reside in. This decision was made in our absence, we were not given the ability to present evidence in our defense and no inspection had taken place.
Even though the biggest part of the building is safe to live in and the stripped part had been closed off, the court decided to evict without a hearing. We wonder if it has something to do with the extremely expensive lawyers of the owner?
The police came by on the 14th of October to announce that we would have to leave, our lawyer confirmed they made this decision and going into high appeal would not call off the eviction. They gave us 3 hours to pack our stuff.
Autonomous Student Struggle (A.S.S.) called for a demonstration in front of the building, to protest against this ridiculous verdict to protect the landlords of the city from homeless students.The police decided not to show themselves until the next morning when they evicted us with their special forces. Resistance ensued in the form of barricades, the occupants could escape before being captured. The owner hired private security to stand in front of the door for the rest of the day. [Read More]
Utrecht: squatted floors on the Oudegracht 106-108 illegally evicted
Utrecht (Netherlands) – Late Saturday evening the police nevertheless proceeded with an illegal eviction to protect the interests of the owner Caron Realestate & Management BV.
Earlier in the day, squatters had announced that they had been using the upper floors for several days.
In response, the police responded accordingly, and an officer of justice explained to the owner that a procedure will be initiated, that he could file a complain and have his arguments for a possible urgent case reviewed by the investigation judge.
This is a new procedure to get squatters out of a property faster that went into effect on July 1, 2022. [Read More]
Utrecht: neccesity breaks law
Squatted buildings in central Utrecht to celebrate 12 years of squatting ban
Utrecht (Netherlands) – On October 1, 2022, exactly 12 years after the Squatting and Vacancy Act (Wet Kraken en leegstand) came into effect, the office spaces above the Intersport on Oudegracht 106-108 were squatted. The squatters aim to demonstrate that squatting is still a legitimate option in addressing and combating the housing crisis and homelessness. Although the law is supposed to combat vacancy, vacancy rates have only increased since the squatting ban. At the same time, there is an unprecedented housing crisis, which means that people searching for a house are on waiting lists, miss out on houses because investors outbid them and, when they do manage to get a house, have to work their asses off to pay the rent. This while squatting and the squatting movement have been criminalized and persecuted. [Read More]
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