Overview
- The COA issued the warning on Wednesday that Ter Apel and nearby night‑shelters are effectively full and that children, women and people with medical needs increasingly face the prospect of waiting outside.
- The reception centre was built for about 2,000 people but has been overcapacity since January 2026 and now relies on small auxiliary night shelters in Zuidwolde and Warffum that are nearly full.
- COA says the shortage is driven not by higher arrivals but by slow IND procedures and a lack of municipal placements, leaving roughly 18,500 people with residence status waiting for housing and blocking reception places.
- Remco Bakker, the new COA chair, urged municipalities to provide immediate temporary and emergency housing because the organisation needs hundreds of extra places now and the Red Cross emergency shelter is already at capacity.
- Since the 2024 spreidingswet requires municipalities to host quota numbers, the government has placed 63 municipalities under supervision but has not yet used its power to arrange housing outside municipal lines and pressure on local councils could force that step.