Housing minister Mona Keijzer has drawn up legislation which will stop local councils from giving refugees with residence permits priority for rental housing, the Telegraaf reported on Monday.

In 2017, the government removed the requirement that local authorities allocate a certain percentage of rental homes to refugees, leaving them the option of whether to do it or not. Now Keijzer plans to stop any priority ruling for refugees, in line with plans agreed in the coalition deal.

The waiting lists for social housing average at least seven years, but in some places, such as Amsterdam, it is more than double that.

Councils will remain responsible for providing housing for refugees, and Keijzer wants them to come up with other ideas, such as shared homes.

The Dutch local authorities association VNG has already warned the cabinet that by not giving refugees priority, the backlog of people living in temporary accommodation will continue to grow. That, in turn, will put even more pressure on official refugee accommodation and the current shortage of beds.

Some 19,000 people with residency status are still living in accommodation which has been reserved for new arrivals because there is no where else for them to go.

Housing corporation association Aedes also warned MPs last week that not allowing refugees to jump the queue and live in proper housing will make it harder for them to integrate and contribute to Dutch society.

Last Friday, immigration minister Marjolein Faber said she is prepared to pay local authorities €30,000 if they provide other housing for refugees with residency permits who are living in official refugee centres.

She will also pay €60 a day per person if councils develop temporary housing where refugees can start their lives in the Netherlands outside the centres.

However, last year, Faber rejected plans by Apeldoorn city council to provide shared accommodation for 50 refugees because it is “not basic enough.”

That plan included giving each refugee their own bedroom, but did not fit with the minister’s idea of basic housing for refugees who have a residency permit and are waiting for more permanent housing.

Keijzer told the paper that the legislation will be put out to consultation on Monday and that she will research the impact of the plans together with the local and provincial authorities. The legislation will also go to the Council of State for review.