Hi everyone,
I’m currently dealing with a huge headache trying to get a briefadres (postal address) and I really need advice from anyone who has dealt with this recently.
I found a friend who agreed to be my postal address provider, which I thought was the hardest part. However, the municipality just put my application on hold and sent me an email saying they cannot process it unless I provide the exact addresses of where I will be staying for the next 3 months, the average number of days per week/month at each place (or proof of payment for hotels/hostels).

The problem is: I genuinely DO NOT KNOW where I’ll be sleeping for the next 3 months.

Right now, I'm crashing on a friend's couch until the end of October. After that, my situation is completely unpredictable. Maybe I’ll stay on this couch a bit longer, maybe another friend will let me crash at their place for a while. I literally live week to week depending on who has space and is willing to let me stay while I look for a permanent room.

I’ve searched this sub and read multiple posts from a few months ago where people said "just tell them you’re housing insecure and staying with various friends." Well, that clearly doesn't work anymore. They explicitly wrote that without specific addresses and average days per week/month, they simply won't assess my application.

I'm also terrified of shooting myself in the foot: if I write that I'm staying most of the time at one friend's place, they'll reject the briefadres and tell me I have to register there as a normal resident (which I obviously can't do, otherwise I wouldn't be applying for a postal address in the first place).

How the hell are you supposed to give a 3-month schedule of couches when you're literally couchsurfing and don't know where you'll be in two weeks? Has anyone received this exact follow-up email from the Gemeente recently? How did you answer without getting rejected or getting your friends in trouble?

I seriously wonder how people are even managing to find a home these days. Social housing often comes with years of waiting, private rentals are ridiculously expensive, and buying a house seems almost impossible for most first-time buyers.

I'm genuinely curious how everyone else is dealing with this. Are you currently renting, buying, or still looking? And how long have you been searching?

I'd especially love to hear from people who have actually managed to find a place recently. How did you do it?