In 1996, Ungdomshuset was ravaged by fire destroying much of the interior. The city council used this opportunity as an excuse for closing down the house claiming that the building were no longer fit for human use. But the users were not going to let that happen. They started renovating the house themselves and after six months the house was reopened for the public. The city counsel protested about this but after the city building inspectors had inspected the house they found the house in an even better state of repair than before the fire. The city counsel then had to withdraw their protest.