Asva urges city council to take tougher action against HiCondo
Student union Asva is calling on Amsterdam City Council to take tougher action against HiCondo, whose residents have been complaining for years about high costs, poor maintenance and intimidation. During a committee meeting, Asva chair Josephine de Haas called for a stricter approach to the student housing complex in Zuidoost.
“There is evidence, this landlord is breaking the rules, and it is time to take action.” That is what Josephine de Haas, chair of student union Asva, told Amsterdam City Council on Wednesday. Her address to the committee was prompted by continuing dissatisfaction among residents of the HiCondo student complex on Foppingadreef in Amsterdam-Zuidoost. Students living there have complained about high bills, overdue maintenance and intimidation by the landlord, among other things.
The complaints about HiCondo are nothing new. In 2016, consumer affairs programme Kassa already reported on the complex. At the time, students complained about high costs, which they said were often illegal, poor communication and delays in handing over their homes. This led the SP to name HiCondo owner and landlord Soner Sari ‘Slumlord of the Year’.
Almost ten years later, the complaints have still not disappeared. HiCondo tenants continue to pay excessively high security deposits and service charges and regularly face overdue maintenance. Students who raise concerns about these issues face intimidation from the landlord and threats of eviction, according to Het Parool and Ad Valvas.
Intimidation
The immediate reason for Wednesday's debate was an article published in De Telegraaf earlier this month. Several HiCondo residents and Asva expressed their dissatisfaction with the actions of Alderman Zita Pels (Housing). According to the residents, their reports of intimidation are not being taken seriously enough. The municipality previously said there was insufficient evidence to establish that the landlord had engaged in intimidation.
Students are also critical of the approach to high rents. The municipality has now secured rent reductions for seven of the more than 350 studios, using a penalty order. For residents, however, this does not feel like the “tough action” or “strong signal” the municipality had previously promised. “During the campaign, various parties promised that rogue landlords and intimidating landlords would finally be dealt with. It turns out to be empty promises once again,” De Haas says. “Tenants not only feel let down, but also used.”
Not opening the door
In response to the discontent, “shocked” BIJ1 council member Teun Otte put the issue on the agenda for the housing debate, where Alderman Pels faced critical questions. Several parties questioned why, despite the many reports coming from HiCondo, only seven tenants had qualified for a rent reduction.
According to De Haas, fear of reprisals is an important reason why residents do not report problems. Some tenants, she says, are even afraid to open their doors for fear of intimidation or aggression.
Alderman Pels acknowledges that fear of the landlord may be an important reason for not reporting problems. “My expectation is that people are afraid to come forward. That is precisely the crux of the matter. How can we make sure people know that they do not have to put up with this?”
“We won’t stop”
At the same time, Pels describes the seven reduced rents mainly as a starting point. “We have been pursuing HiCondo for quite some time. We are putting an enormous amount of capacity into finally getting them to comply with the law. So I can make this promise as well: we will not stop until things are in order there.”
Pels shares the concerns expressed by various parties, but stresses that intervening quickly is legally complicated. “For a rent reduction, for example, an individual case is required: that is how rental law works.”
Legal limits
According to Pels, the municipality also runs up against legal limits when it comes to the alleged intimidation. “There are also things that are intimidating, but that we cannot enforce against. You know me: if I saw an opening, I would practically run to court to start a case.” According to Pels, for example, some tenants refuse to pay the excessive rent even before the legal procedure for a rent reduction has been completed. “Under private law, the landlord is then in the right. That makes things complicated.”
The alderman will meet with Asva and the residents’ committee. That meeting has now been scheduled. “If we do see room to take action, I will do so with the greatest enthusiasm,” Pels says.
