The Brussels government has validated the principles of the next four-year funding program for the renovation of social housing in the capital for 2018-2021. According to Housing Minister Céline Fremault (cdH), emphasis will be placed on shortening the implementation deadlines by anticipating the preparation of projects.
In particular, it was decided to reserve a new budget of 300 million euros that will be allocated to the regional heritage and renovation compliance policy, which will promote both housing security and the quality of life of tenants.
The last three quadrennial programs adopted by the region have focused on the renovation of dwellings that are unoccupied or soon to be renovated without compliance to the Housing Code. According to Mrs Fremault, 2,754 housing units have been renovated since 2002, including 365 under the 2014-2017 program.
In the 2018-2021 program, the selected projects will, for some, already have been the subject of a feasibility study or even of structural surveys. In order to encourage SISPs to stick to to their planning, the SLRB will put in place a system of incentives and sanctions aimed at making them accountable without penalising social tenants.
A budget of EUR 300 million will already have been committed by the region for 2018 and 2019. It will be allocated as follows: 80% for renovation, 15% for drafting rights, 4% for urgent projects and 1% to the "101st % of culture".
The new programme will make it possible to meet the priority objectives of the Brussels region aiming to guarantee the security of housing while promoting its sanitation and conformity in terms of the equipment required in the dwellings. Emphasis will also be placed on the fight against and prevention of unoccupied accommodation as well as on the energy performance of the housing in order to reduce the energy bills of tenants.
The Brussels Times
