Netherlands court increases overcrowding penalty for asylum-seeker housing agency News
Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Netherlands court increases overcrowding penalty for asylum-seeker housing agency

A Dutch court ordered the Central Organ for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) to pay the municipality of Westerwolde 50,000 euros per day that its Ter Apel asylum seeker reception center exceeds 2,000 occupants, local media reported Wednesday. The potential penalty could reach up to 5 million euros in total.

The COA reported that its main reason for exceeding the limit of 2,000 people is due to the delay in the availability of new locations and the increase in the number of temporary asylees who are awaiting a home. The COA issued a statement saying, “We do everything we can to adhere to the administrative agreement with the municipality of Westerwolde (Ter Apel) and to avoid penalty payments.” According to local media, COA director Milo Schoenmaker said there is nothing more the center can do without compromising the staff’s adequate rest. 

The COA reported it previously made arrangements to set up emergency shelters if Ter Apel is at capacity. However, in court proceedings, Westerwolde stated that the actual number of people on-site is not reflected in the COA’s count because it covers only the number of beds used by potential refugees, not including asylum seekers who spend the night at emergency shelter locations. The court agreed with Westerwolde that more people are on-site during the daytime, and the daily occupancy on the site reportedly reaches between 120 and 140 percent.

This is the second summary proceeding brought by the municipality against the COA based on a breach of an administrative agreement stipulating that the Ter Apel center must not exceed a maximum capacity of 2,000 people. Back in January 2024, another Dutch court ordered a lower penalty of 15,000 euros per day that the center exceeds capacity, up to 1.5 million euros. Although this updated penalty is lower than the recommended 75,000 euros, it is higher than the previous court-mandated fine of 15,000 euros per violation.

Under Article 9(1) of the Netherlands’ Regulation on Benefits for Asylum Seekers and Other Categories of Foreigners 2005 (RVA), an asylum seeker is entitled to adequate reception conditions after registering an asylum application. The reception centers in EU Member States must conform to an “adequate standard of living” including housing for asylum seekers under EU Directive 2013/33. Also, Article 14 (8) of the Council directive on the reception of asylum seekers lays down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers that the reasonable period for the shortage of housing capacities shall be as short as possible.  

The Operational Plan for 2024, signed by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) and the Dutch government in December 2023, proposes to increase the Netherlands’ temporary reception capacity and to deploy EUAA asylum support teams.

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