(Nederlands) Soweto is a housing association where self-engagement of tenants is paramount. By renting properties to groups who manage the building under their own responsibility, Soweto provides affordable living and working space. Soweto is a democratic association in which the members jointly decide on the policy of the housing association. Solidarity and sustainability play a major role in this.

Housing association Soweto has its origins in the Transvaalbuurt in Amsterdam. After the disappearance of a large volume of social housing, residents and squatters in that neighborhood decided to join forces. After years of negotiations and political struggles, in 2014 we managed to convince the then district council of Amsterdam East to sell one of its buildings to us at a reasonable price: the old school Pieter Nieuwlandstraat 93-95 in the Dapperbuurt, Amsterdam East. We then renovated the building ourselves. The building has affordable living space for 11 people, united in a living group, some working spaces on the ground floor, and a public space. The building has its own extensive website. The purchase of the building and the renovation was made possible by a mortgage from the German GLS bank, loans from our own solidarity groups and a relatively small amount of 5, 10 and 15-year bonds.

Living and working spaces in Soweto are not rented directly by Soweto to individual tenants, but to an association that represents the building itself (pandvereniging). In the pandvereniging, the various tenants work together to manage the property. It is therefore the pandverenging that decides on the admission of tenants. In this way, tenants receive maximum responsibility for their living environment.

We are a small association, with only one building at the moment, and everyone who participates in the activities of the building and/or the association is a volunteer. We hope to take the first steps towards purchasing a second building in the coming years, so that the solidaristic vision of Soweto can really start to take shape, but currently our efforts are mainly focused on the Pieter Nieuwlandstraat 93-95 building. Nevertheless, we are pleased that other groups in Amsterdam are already following a similar path, most notably De Nieuwe Meent.

Questions? Don't hesitate to contact us via the email address below, or come visit us at Pieter Nieuwlandstraat :-)

Kind regards,

Woningbouwvereniging Soweto,
KvK-nummer 34278166

Contact: soweto [AT] soweto.nl


Last update: 15 september 2023. This website is being actively renieuwed!