A group of Marolles tenants has banded together to purchase their building, which was put up for sale last year. However, the property owner has twice declined the collective's offer and both the residents and Brussels State Secretary for Housing have denounced the "rampant gentrification" of the working-class neighbourhood.
51, Rue Haute is located just next to Lidl on the bustling commercial street that runs through the Marolles, one of Brussels' oldest neighbourhoods. The building is owned by Immobe SA, a company that owns 4% of Brussels real estate. It was put up for sale along with 11 other properties last year.
Concerned about soaring rent prices and the prospect of eviction, a group of tenants created Coop'Haute 51, a housing collective that aims to purchase the building. Coop'Haute 51 is based on principles of solidarity and social justice and strives to secure affordable rent in the long term and collective property management.
Le Petit Lion on Rue Haute. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
However, two separate offers to purchase the property have been declined. The first was made on 13 January and was rejected as the price was considered "insufficient". A second higher offer was made on 10 February. It was also refused.
"The owner was not sympathetic to the social dimension of this bid, preferring to maximise their capital gains," the cooperative stated. "The homes are now being sold off. Tenants will therefore sooner or later have to leave."
'I can't afford to go anywhere else'
Hélène (50) is a lifelong resident of the Marolles and her mother owned a shoe shop in the neighbourhood. She has lived at 51 Rue Haute for 15 years.
As well as her personal connection to the neighbourhood, a sensitive health situation makes her fearful about where she might go next. She lost her sense of smell in an operation in 2017 and is concerned about the health repercussions of moving apartment.
"The doctor told me that I was lucky to live in a building without gas," she said. "If I had to leave, I would be exposed to a danger that was invisible to me."
Front of Lucifer Lives on Rue Haute. Credit: Marta Mieze / The Brussels Times
Marta is 58 and says if she has to leave, "everything will fall apart". "It is impossible to find a flat for the same price in Brussels, where rents are rocketing," she lamented. Marta lives with her daughter and grandson, who is attending school in the area.
"Moving house isn't just about changing accommodation, it puts my grandson's future into question. It also means moving away from my job and everything that keeps me going. "I can't afford to go anywhere else and yet I'm being pushed out."
'This cannot continue'
Brussels State Secretary for Housing Nawal Ben Hamou (Socialist Party) has expressed support for Coop'Haute 51, saying the property sale is a "typical case of gentrification" in Marolles.
Brussels Secretary of State for Housing Nawal Ben Hamou (PS). Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
"It illustrates the wider housing crisis that is hitting the Brussels-Capital Region, every year forcing families to leave against their will even though their whole lives have been rooted here. This cannot continue."
International organisations and Belgian groups have long been sounding the alarm about a housing crisis in Brussels. Across Belgium, rents rose by 18.3% between January 2021 and January 2025, increasing much more quickly than in neighbouring countries. In Brussels, rental prices increased by almost 10% in 2023 and a further 5% in 2024.
