With the help of HVO-Querido, the first Housing First project in the Netherlands got established in Amsterdam in 2006. In 2019 more than 20 projects had been established around the country and continuous efforts are taking place to expand and upscale Housing First more and more.

Since 2006, several enthusiastic municipalities, NGOs and housing corporations in the country have started projects and pilot programmes. Today, Housing First is mostly used as an addition to the range of shelter options (often next to the staircase model).  

Nationally, there is increasing homelessness and an increasing housing shortage. More and more people are becoming homeless, the shelters are at full occupancy, and the relapse into homelessness is high. The government has now released a national strategy to to reduce homelessness, with increasing recognition that Housing First should be the leading approach. 

However, a lack of housing and funding still poses a challenge and despite the establishment of Housing First programmes in more than 20 Dutch cities, Housing First still struggles to expand into the mainstream.

In December 2022, the Dutch Government launched a new National Action Plan on Homelessness based on Housing First principles.

The current policy programme is based on the success of local Housing First programmes, which until now have not had the national attention from the Government they required. There are currently 47 Housing First practices in 93 municipalities (2023). This represents a cautious starting point for national coverage, which is critical for the national roll out of the programme. People experiencing homelessness in the Netherlands currently have an estimated 10% chance of access to Housing First.

The current system is relatively expensive and ineffective (Boesveldt, 2015; van Everdingen et al., 2021) and lacks a coordinated government-led approach. Much of the help provided for people experiencing homelessness concerns temporary options, with no prospect of a sustainable solution.