Parties call pile rot offer to home owner insufficient

LEEUWARDEN - Numerous homes are sagging with walls showing signs of distress and even cracks. The underlying issue is that wooden foundations and piles are suffering from rot because authorities tried to placate unhappy special interests by adjusting water tables without having a thought for unintended consequences. By lowering water tables, the foundations partially dried out allowing pile rot to set in, which, years later, have become a political hot potato now that thousands of home owners face significant repair bills. The provincial administration in Friesland has offered low-interest loans with a maximum of 50,000 euros at two percent interest. Some political parties call the offer to over 200 hardship cases insufficient – the repairs will cost more – but they do not constitute a majority. A similar problem has occurred elsewhere in the country.