Flemish government to penalise municipalities that underinvest in social housing

In the fight against long waiting lists for social housing, the Flemish government aims to build 56,000 additional social houses by 2042. Municipalities that refuse to do their part will be financially penalised, according to the new “Binding Social Objective” approved by the government. Additional efforts are also requested from the tenants themselves.

Flanders has been struggling with an acute shortage of social housing for years. Nearly 200,000 families are currently on the waiting list. The current “Binding Social Objective” – the Flemish regulation that obliges municipalities to provide a certain number of social rental homes – expires at the end of this year. The goal was to build 50,000 additional social houses. To date, 35,000 of these have been built.

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Flemish housing minister Melissa Depraetere has been working on a new Binding Social Objective for some time, and now an agreement has been reached within the government. By 2042, 56,000 additional social homes must be built. This includes 45,000 mandatory homes to be distributed among the Flemish municipalities. The remaining 11,000 are to be built by municipalities that want to do more.

Depraetere also wants to be stricter with municipalities that refuse to do their part. These municipalities will be financially sanctioned. In concrete terms, the municipalities concerned will have to contribute to the rent premium. In this way, the sanction becomes a “direct investment in the purchasing power of those who rent,” according to Depraetere.

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At the same time, the Flemish government is asking social tenants to make an extra effort. For example, the required language level will be raised from A2 to B1 oral, and prospective tenants will be required to register with the Flemish employment agency VDAB. In addition, the rent for new social tenants will also increase by 30 to 50 euros.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Flemish housing minister Melissa Depraetere and Flemish minister-president Matthias Diependaele © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE}