In 2020, 169,000 people were on the waiting list for social housing in Flanders, especially single people. One in three candidates wants to live in the province of Antwerp. According to the Association of Flemish Housing Companies (VVH), the current recipes do not solve the problem.
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About 159,217 people currently reside in social housing in Flanders, but there are even more candidates on a waiting list. This is evident from figures from Flemish Minister of Housing Matthias Diependaele (N-VA). In 2020 there were 169,000 – an increase of 10% compared to 2019. “That is because the income conditions have been made less strict and so more people are entitled to social housing,” explains Diependaele. On average, prospective tenants are on a waiting list for about 3.5 to 4 years. The minister does want to strictly control who is allowed to occupy the social housing. “Fraudsters have to get out. Anyone who owns a property abroad will fly out,” it sounds strongly.
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Diependaele also links the ‘integration’ argument to social housing: for example, he demands that the prospective tenants ‘speak Dutch at a decent level’. Unemployed tenants must also be registered with the VDAB. Since 2017, there are no longer any leases with an indefinite term: now a contract runs for nine years. “A social housing may not win for life are,” said Diependaele.
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But it is not, says the Association of Flemish Housing Companies (VVH). Director Björn Mallants denies that the increase in income limits in 2013 had such a big effect. “Hardly a few percent of social tenants have a ‘high’ income”, says Mallants. “A number of them will have to leave social housing from 2026 due to the temporary rental contracts. But that is about a few hundred, that will not solve a shortage of 169,000 social housing.” He also nuances the effect of locating foreign properties among social tenants. There, too, it is only a matter of a few hundred homes that will become available.”
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“Need more social housing”
According to him, the only conclusion we can draw is that there should be much more social housing. “In 2009 a growth path was mapped out to compensate for the severe shortage of social housing, but the waiting lists at social housing companies continue to grow,” said Mallants. “The number of candidates on the waiting list at social housing companies has more than doubled since 2009. In that period, however, 25,000 new social housing units have been added. So the growth is striking. It concerns more than 400,000 people in total.”
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According to him, our share of social housing “of barely 6%” is also too low. “Poverty figures are much higher, even in our neighboring countries people are doing much better, up to 30% in the Netherlands,” says Mallants. The waiting lists have been growing systematically since 2005, they have since increased by a factor of 2.5. The growth path – with the ‘historically large’ budgets – has hardly resulted in a larger share of social housing.”
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