What is volkshuisvesting?
Volkshuisvesting is the Dutch term for government-led provision of good, affordable housing for large groups of residents. It covers both the policy and the construction itself, and is comparable to what is called public or social housing elsewhere. For a long time Dutch volkshuisvesting focused mainly on people on low incomes, hence the related term sociale woningbouw (social housing): homes let on a non-profit basis to people who cannot buy a home themselves.
Origins
At the end of the nineteenth century many working-class families in Dutch cities lived in small, damp and overcrowded dwellings, often without proper ventilation, sanitation or daylight. Diseases spread quickly. In response, the Netherlands introduced the Housing Act (Woningwet) in 1901. This act:
- set quality requirements for the construction of homes;
- obliged municipalities to adopt building regulations and larger or fast-growing municipalities to draw up an extension plan;
- made it possible to declare unfit dwellings uninhabitable;
- provided funding to municipalities and approved housing associations.
After a slow start, construction got well under way at the end of the 1910s. In the 1920s architects had a great deal of influence. This produced well-known projects, such as the housing of the Amsterdam School and various garden villages.
Volkshuisvesting and construction
Volkshuisvesting has strongly shaped Dutch building practice. The building rules that began with the Housing Act grew into today’s national building regulations. After the Second World War, the severe housing shortage led to system building and large-scale housing construction in post-war neighbourhoods. Housing associations still manage a large share of the rental homes in the Netherlands.
Recognising it in practice
- Dutch Housing Act dwellings often have a simple, repeated layout behind a facade with architectural unity across an entire block.
- In early complexes you sometimes see facade stones or inscriptions with the name of the housing association and the year of construction.
- When renovating such homes, the same issues often arise: little or no insulation, timber floors over a crawl space and sometimes listed-building or conservation-area status.
Related terms
- Workers’ housing
- Amsterdam School
- Back-to-back house
- Building control
- Housing defects
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