Dear Residential Activist,

You are very welcome at the first Woonopstand meeting of 2023!
We will first work together on the new vision document of Woonopstand, then we will split into four groups for training and deepening and finally eat together again. You can read the program below. Register for this day using the form below. You can register for one of the workshops.

Exactly one year ago, a coalition of more than 15 solidarity (residential) action groups organized the Woonopstand in Rotterdam. For the first time in nearly 40 years, a wave of housing protests swept across the country and the housing crisis came back on the political and social agenda. Under the motto 'Houses for people, not for profit', thousands of demonstrators came to the Afikaander Park in Rotterdam and marched across the Erasmus Bridge to the center. There was a strong message of mutual solidarity among the very diverse group that stood up for their right of residence on 17 October, which makes a large national housing movement in the Netherlands very much alive again. Even after all the police repression, we have shown that we do not allow ourselves to be divided and that solidarity is stronger than state repression.

As a result of unprecedented inflation, rising energy and rental prices, and significantly more expensive groceries, a huge number of people are facing a tough winter. Sky-high utility bills threaten to push them into financial difficulties or debt. The affordability problems that many people have been experiencing for a long time are exacerbated by a decline in purchasing power such as we have not experienced in decades. This can no longer be the case. The water is not up to people's lips, but hundreds of thousands are now in danger of drowning. Decisive action must be taken now to prevent poverty and further damage to livelihoods. This does not require plastering afterwards, but a structural policy change to prevent damage beforehand and in the future.

On Sunday, June 19, 2022, tens of thousands of people will take to the streets to demand fair climate policies — exactly 30 years after the first climate conference. While politicians keep talking, we spring into action. Make sure you're there and join the Woonopstandblok! For a radically equal housing and climate policy!

Every year, 11,000 homes are demolished, even though the housing shortage is so high. Many are on waiting lists for social housing for years, and also in the owner-occupied sector it often ends in a bidding war where most people lose, and 1 person 'wins' by putting down too much money. And during this struggle, houses are being demolished in front of us, to make way for more expensive new construction that is unaffordable for the average citizen. Sign and share the petition of De Goede Zaak now!

Rents have increased by more than 35% over the past 10 years. More than 800,000 tenants have too little left for the necessary costs and living expenses after paying the rent. Action group 'We Refuse the Rent Increase' is therefore fighting for a multi-year rent freeze (2022-2026) to make housing affordable again for everyone, and to keep it that way.

On October 17, 2021, between 8,000 and 10,000 people came to the national Woonopstand in Rotterdam. There we made a joint fist with a broad coalition. It is high time for a radically different housing policy. But the housing struggle continues, also in 2022! Residential protests will be organized at both local and national level in the coming months. Here's an overview.

By Harriet Bergman for Hard//Head. Police who want to enter into a dialogue with victims after a crackdown. Harriet Bergman doesn't believe it. She sees the police brutality during the Residential Revolt in Rotterdam as a needless provocation that overshadows the demolition of the Tweebosbuurt.

Following the police action during the Residential Revolt on October 17, 2021,
many protesters shared their stories with us. As an organization we have tried to gain insight
to be obtained in the course of the day and the actions of the police. The statements cover
different times of the day and come from protesters who stand both in front, in the middle
as found at the back of the march.

On Sunday 17 October we revolted against the housing policy in Rotterdam. A peaceful protest in which some 8,000 people took part. A protest that was brutally disrupted by the Rotterdam police on the Erasmus Bridge. Next Thursday, November 4, the Rotterdam city council will debate this one-sided and brutal police brutality. The violence on the Erasmus Bridge is yet another addition to the endless list of scandals at the Rotterdam police force.