Social housing, declaration of urgency

Do you urgently need other housing? In some cases you can apply for a declaration of urgency (also called priority declaration). This declaration allows you to respond to social housing with priority over other house seekers.

What you need to know

If you get a declaration of urgency, others will take longer to find housing. You can apply for a declaration of urgency if your housing situation is medically or socially disruptive/life threatening. 

How do you apply for a declaration of urgency?

You follow the steps below:

  1. First, see if you can apply for an urgency certificate. To do so, complete The Fourth House's Urgency Guide. The Fourth House is the organization that handles urgency applications on behalf of the municipality.
     
  2. Schedule an "opportunity consultation" with The Fourth House. During this conversation, you will receive free advice about the likelihood of receiving an urgency. You will also receive advice on the procedure and documents you need to submit. 
     
  3. After the interview, you can submit a final application for urgency. To process your application, you pay a fee. You must always pay these fees even if the urgency is denied. 

Always apply for a declaration of urgency yourself!

There are organizations operating on the Internet that offer to arrange the urgency declaration for you. Do not do this! An application this way takes just as long, but you pay extra for it. 

Costs

You pay the fees before the application. You must always pay these fees even if the urgency is denied. 

DescriptionCosts
Applying for a declaration of urgency€ 62,90

Price changes and typographical errors reserved.

How long will it take?
  • If your application is complete, your application will go through to the 'Urgency Review Committee Zoetermeer'.
  • The review committee meets once every two weeks.
  • The review committee reviews the application and recommends whether or not to grant an urgency certificate.
  • Within 8 weeks you will receive a message telling you whether you will receive urgency or not. Are you applying for urgency on medical grounds? Then you may need to make an appointment with a doctor. 
  • When urgency is granted, you can respond with priority in Woonnet Haaglanden to the housing types for which you have been granted urgency. By default, a flat with/without elevator and a porch apartment are assigned in the search profile. 
  • An urgency is valid for 3 months.