From 1 January, some Walloon residents will be able to claim €125 per household every month from the government to help with their rent while they are waiting to be allocated social housing, announced Wallonia's Housing Minister Cristophe Colllignon during an interview with RTBF on 15 July.
This sum will rise by €20 per dependent child and will be doubled for dependents with disabilities for a maximum total of €185 per month. “With my colleague Phillipe Henry, we are going to set up, for 1 January, a monthly rent allowance intended for those who have priority on the waiting lists to obtain social housing,” the minister specified.
The new proposal is set to be approved by the Walloon government on 15 July. The new allowance would apply to around 12,000 households in Wallonia. To qualify, Walloon residents must be both on a priority social housing waiting list and have an income lower than €20,000 per household.
“This is a new recurring measure. Initially, the persons concerned will be notified by letter in which they will be asked to register. Then, once the system is in place, we will aim for it to become automatic,” Collignon said. The system is intended to be a system of long-term support, paid monthly to those in a precarious housing situation.
While the support will be welcomed by many Walloon residents, rising energy bills and rent indexation will weigh heavily on their budgets until the new allowance comes into force in January. Collignon stated that the system would take a while to set up, but should work well when completed.
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On rent indexation, the minister expressed support for limiting rental price rises. Currently, landlords may automatically adjust rents each year in line with inflation and the cost of living. With rapidly rising inflation and living costs in Belgium, many Walloon tenants have witnessed their rents increase significantly. Collignon sees this as a double penalty.
“They pay for the cost of inflation in relation to the energy cost, and at the same time, the rent index which means that they could pay 8% or 9% on top of their rent,” the minister said.
“I am working on limiting indexation,” the housing minister promised, but warned that “political space is needed to pass the case.”
