Students living in the Ravellaan building must leave after all

The 180 young people living in the old office building best known as "De Ravel" are on temporary rental contracts. They knew they would have to move out in May to make room for redevelopment works, but the municipality does not have any plans for the redevelopment of the area yet. That's why the residents, many of whom are students, were hoping to stay a little while longer. They protested in front of the town hall on January 29. 

However, the municipality stated that staying is not an option for those residents because they would qualify for rent protection and this would block the redevelopment plans for the area. Other options also have too many snags, as became clear during the municipal council meeting held on February 6.

At the end of the debate, Bij1 and VVD were the only parties still supporting the students' plea. Both parties submitted a motion to that end. BIJ1 asked residents to have fixed tenancy agreements, while VVD proposed to sell the building while allowing the tenants to stay. This would extend the tenancy agreement. In the end, neither motion obtained a majority, partly due to the high costs and possible delays this would incur to the area redevelopment.

"Tense"
"This is ‘really, really shitty", Sam (22), a student living in the building, puts it bluntly. The atmosphere in the house has also been "tense" since the final decision. "Everyone was so sad and upset after the debate. But you have to move on, so everyone is looking for a new home now."

They were disappointed because more parties seemed to be on their side before the council meeting. "PvdA, Groen Links and VVD dropped by for a cup of coffee before the debate and indicated that they wanted to find a solution to our situation, which gave us hope," Sam explains.

The residents are not giving up yet. They are going to present a petition to the city council and take the matter to the media, including the TV programme Kassa, which is planning a visit.