Dutch Municipality Gains Power to Screen Who Lives in Crime-Hit Neighbourhoods
Zaanstad, 11 March 2026
Zaanstad has received government approval to control housing allocation in five troubled districts for four years, allowing authorities to reject applicants with criminal backgrounds. The policy targets areas where only 52% of residents feel safe compared to 77% citywide, and where nearly half of the region’s high-risk youth live. This expansion of selective housing powers represents a controversial approach to tackling urban problems through residential gatekeeping.
Government Approval Extends Housing Controls
On 11 March 2026, Minister Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan of Housing and Spatial Planning granted Zaanstad municipality permission to apply selective housing allocation in five designated districts for the next four years [1]. The authorization operates under the Special Measures for Metropolitan Problems Act (Wet bijzondere maatregelen grootstedelijke problematiek), which enables municipalities to control who can move into areas facing multiple social challenges [1]. These areas experience concentrated problems including housing issues, living environment concerns, unemployment, poverty, health problems, education difficulties, safety issues, and organised and undermining crime [1].
Expansion from Pilot Areas to Wider Implementation
The municipality has been actively using the Special Measures Act in Poelenburg and Peldersveld since 2018 [1]. The new approval extends these powers to include Kogerveldwijk, Rosmolenwijk, Hoornseveld and Zaandam-Zuid [1]. These districts form part of the Pact Zaandam Oost, which operates within the National Programme for Liveability and Safety [1]. The expansion represents a significant scaling up of selective housing controls from two to five neighbourhoods across the municipality.
Safety Statistics Reveal Sharp Neighbourhood Divides
The safety disparities between different areas of Zaanstad demonstrate the challenges facing these targeted neighbourhoods. In Poelenburg, only 52% of residents feel safe, whilst this figure rises to 67% in Rosmolenwijk [1]. Both percentages fall considerably short of the 77% safety perception rate across Zaanstad as a whole [1]. These statistics underscore a safety gap of 25 percentage points between the most vulnerable area and the municipal average. Additionally, approximately 47% of Zaanstad’s high-risk youth reside in Zaandam-Oost [1], highlighting the concentration of social challenges in these specific districts.
Official Justification for Residential Gatekeeping
Minister Boekholt-O’Sullivan defended the policy expansion, stating: ‘In our country, everyone deserves to live in a safe and liveable neighbourhood. In Zaandam-Oost, residents feel less safe than in other parts of the city. That’s why it’s good that the municipality gains control over who is allowed to live in those neighbourhoods. This creates neighbourhoods where residents can feel safe and at home again’ [1]. Alderman Harrie van der Laan, responsible for Housing and Area Development, welcomed the extension, explaining: ‘We are very pleased with this expansion of housing allocation in Zaandam-Oost. We can now steer much more targeted control over the influx of people into these neighbourhoods. For example, we can now exclude housing seekers with nuisance-causing or criminal behaviour’ [1]. This approach represents a direct intervention in housing markets to address social problems through demographic control.