Real-estate tips from the Dutch underground.

By Tess Taylor
The Metropolis Observed
November 2001

Whereas other European cities have evicted squatters--or simply turned the police on them, sometimes resulting in violent confrontations--Amsterdam has recently found a way to legalize them. For a nominal fee, apartment seekers can register to become "anti-squat guards," who preemptively squat an apartment to prevent other people from squatting it first. According to a Web guide to Amsterdam housing (www.xs4all.nl/~cgr), "The idea behind squatting is that when an apartment has been empty for a long time, you go live there without permission of the owner...Anti-squatting means that you live in a place that is empty...to prevent it from being squatted." The difference is that the owner knows you're there, won't sic the police on you, and lets you collect your belongings before kicking you out. Both have the same basic upsides (the price and the vast amount of space) and downsides (lack of privacy and long-term security).

Offsite:
Squatters occupy virtual space at www.squat.net. More information on anti-squatting is available at www.xs4all.nl/~cgr.
Anti-squatting is "a pretty good deal," says Oscar (like many squatters he refuses to reveal his last name), who runs Squat.net, an online guide to squatting. "It is good because you can pick up your stuff if they say you need to move on," he says. "But it is agreed that you must leave your squat without threatening revolution. This is either good or bad, depending."


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