Key Points
I meet Konstanze Winter in Delft, a canal-encircled city in the Netherlands best known for its distinctive blue-and-white pottery..
These were conceived as an antidote to the rigid grid layouts and tower blocks of the era, featuring low-rise architecture and maze-like streets that are said to resemble the cruciferous vegetable when viewed from above...
All of the units qualify as social housing, for which the income ceiling is set by the government at 47,699 (41,000) for a single person and 52,671 for a multi-person household (although there are no restrictions on earnings after someone moves in)..
Winters rent is 350 a month for a 12 sq metre room (many couples take over two or three adjoining rooms), plus about 150 for all the utilities, including internet, council tax and use of the communal bar and gardens...
British people may think the Netherlands has a more progressive attitude towards social policy and housing solutions, but there are still many bureaucratic headaches..
