180,500 families without housing

25 June 2007

BRUSSELS – Some 317,500 families in Flanders are entitled to social housing, but 180,500 families have still not been provided a place to live, according to the Office of Space and Housing.

The Flemish social housing companies have a total of 137,000 homes that are rented out at a price lower than market prices to families with a low income and no home of their own. Until now there have been 58,000 families on the waiting list at any given time, but the Office of Space and Housing has calculated that this is less than a third of the total number eligible for social housing.

The 180,500 families that have not been granted the social housing to which they are entitled pay on average EUR 431 a month for a home on the private market. The average rent for social housing is EUR 258 a month, for a home of better quality in general.
The housing companies are building 2,000 to 3,000 new social homes a year, which means that it will be 60 years before the current waiting list is worked away.

Subject: Belgian news