The issue of homelessness in Brussels is getting worse, leading the region to implement a minimum quota to ensure that the most vulnerable people can access social housing.
Earlier this week, Belgium's homeless sector went on strike for the first time in five years. The action sought to draw attention to the major challenges homeless services are facing but also highlighted just how dire the homelessness situation is in Brussels. Last year, 7,134 homeless people were counted in the region.
Experts have warned poor housing is proportionately very high in the capital and that the situation is getting worse. The ongoing "saturation of all emergency reception and integration facilities" was further worsened by the national policy of refusing asylum seekers, in place since 2021.
From all sides, organisations have urged official bodies to take urgent action. In response, the Brussels Region will guarantee access to affordable housing to Brussels citizens who are homeless or poorly housed. This was one of the ten areas in which improvement is urgently needed, according to a collective of 11 organisations.
Cardboard shelter for homeless people, at the Brussels North Station. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
The Brussels Government on Thursday 14 March approved the introduction of a minimum quota to facilitate access to social housing for homeless people from 2025, Minister of Social Action Alain Maron and the Minister for Social Action and the Secretary of State for Housing Nawal Ben Hamou confirmed.
"Rehousing homeless people or badly housed individuals and families is the only dignified and sustainable solution to homelessness," Maron said. The measure will ensure that a minimum amount of social housing is set aside for the homeless: 3% in 2025, 4.5% in 2026 and 6% in 2027. "This is a first step in the right direction and responds to the demands of the homeless sector."
'Socialising' Brussels rental market
In addition, from 2024 onwards, a budget of €1.5 million has been earmarked to better support Social Estate Agents (Agences Immobilières Sociales or AIS). They help to "socialise" the Brussels rental market by acting as intermediaries between landlords and prospective low-income tenants looking for accommodation.
In Flanders, a growing number of landlords are opting to rent their properties as social housing through these mechanisms.
The extra budget should ensure that almost 5,000 individuals and families, not only homeless people but also those most at risk of losing their homes – such as tenants with mental health or addiction problems, minors placed on their own, and women who are victims of violence – have access to AIS. Here, they will also receive full psycho-social support, as well as budget guidance, help with administrative formalities, and management of addictions.
"I am convinced that social housing and AIS housing are part of the solution to the problem of poor housing and lack of access to low-cost housing," Maron explained. "It was vital to improve access to this housing for people emerging from homelessness."
