A row has erupted in the Netherlands over plans to make squatting illegal. Unlike in most European countries, it is not currently a criminal offence, but politicians want to change that with the threat of a two year prison sentence.

There are currently between 500 and 1000 squatters living in Amsterdam. The majority of the population supports them.

“Squatting in Holland is too much of a tradition to abolish it just like that. And on the other hand there will be more empty buildings rather than less,” says Eric Duivenvoorden, a former squatter himself.

But an anti-squat organisation says there are other people who could rent these buildings, and believe it is a much better solution.

Officials say more responsibility needs to come from the owners.

As it stands the owner of a property has to report it empty after one year. If they don’t, they get a fine of around €7000.

“For business it is actually a very small amount, and that is all the owners have to do, while this law says the squatters get imprisonment. That is a very misbalanced law I think,” says housing councilor Tjeerd Herrema
 
Local authorities from Holland’s other districts agree and are not backing the government in their plans. Instead they're calling for more power to deal with the problem of social housing themselves.