Now 74 municipalities placed under increased government pressure over asylum housing

The number of municipalities under national supervision for failing to accommodate enough asylum seekers has jumped to 74, an increase of over 17 percent. Minister for Asylum Affairs Bart van den Brink added 11 municipalities to the list on Monday, in addition to the 63 which were already under watch.

Those under supervision must explain how they plan to meet the requirements of the Asylum Distribution Act, where municipalities must house a fixed number of asylum seekers. If they continue to fall short after a period of active supervision, the national government can arrange asylum accommodation without their cooperation.

In that scenario, the affected municipality would have to pay the costs. This situation has not yet taken place.

Three of the 11 are in Limburg, including Gennep, Mook and Middelaar, and Roerdalen. Another three are also in Gelderland, namely Elburg, Neder-Betuwe and West Betuwe. The municipalities of Dantumadiel and Noardeast-Fryslân in Friesland were also listed, as were Bergeijk and Best in Noord-Brabant. The remaining addition was Castricum, Noord-Holland.

The Cabinet had previously placed municipalities such as Westland, Oldebroek, Houten, Vlaardingen, Heerenveen, Culemborg, Diemen, and Staphorst under increased supervision.

The Asylum Distribution Act uses a six-phase system to address municipalities that fail to provide their required share of asylum accommodation. The process can eventually lead to compulsory measures.

The municipalities currently under active supervision have moved from Phase 2 to Phase 3. This means the government is increasing pressure on them to meet their obligations.

A spokesperson for Van den Brink states that 100 official talks have now been held with municipalities and nearly 50 administrative discussions have taken place. These are talks at the highest level.