Belgium's housing sector is on the brink of collapse, industry experts have warned. They call for a complete overhaul of how new housing projects are developed, arguing that regional governments keep returning to old and ineffective solutions.
Several dozen experts from the Belgian real estate and construction sectors, the private rental market and the social housing sector have signed an open letter in which they sound the alarm that the housing situation is going in the wrong direction in Belgium. They say that the same problems affect all areas of the sector.
While Belgium currently has more homeowners than in other countries – 75% are owners, while 20% rent in the private market and 5% are social renters – the experts noted that home ownership is "crumbling". Potential buyers increasingly feel the pressure, mirrored in falling real estate transactions.
Meanwhile, private renting is growing less affordable and prospective social tenants face lengthy waiting lists, affecting the most vulnerable income groups.
"We are heading for an unseen housing crisis," the 14 experts, including Charlotte De Thaye of Federia (the Federation of French-speaking estate agents), Jean-Christophe Vanderhaegen, Director-General Embuild.Brussels and Pascal De Decker, a sociologist at the KULeuven, said. "The right to (affordable) housing will collapse if no action is taken."
They warned of an acute housing pinch within two to three years which will make affordable housing almost unattainable.
Dare to build higher and denser
The letter says that the government responses fail to address the fundamental shortcomings in the sector. "The new-build market is shrinking, while demand far exceeds supply. The private and social rental markets as well as the purchase market are groaning under slow procedures, under rules that are not in tune with today's society," they noted.
The "solutions" offered by governments so far focus on premiums and registration fees. But the letter explains that the housing debate should encompass spatial planning, mobility, construction costs, sewerage costs, biodiversity and affordability. "Instead, politicians point to the migration issue or the fear of urbanisation. This helps no one but leads to a housing policy entrenched in ideology."
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The signatories therefore call for a paradigm shift, which would exchange old "remedies" for an alternative approach that would include pilot projects to explore various new building techniques.
"Our politicians must dare to experiment when it comes to housing. Dare to build much higher and denser, while paying attention to quality spaces and greenery, dare to go for social housing and not just a financial point of view. Dare to create extra breathing space via taxation."
The experts propose a housing task force that would set out an ambitious housing policy that attends to practical realities. "Otherwise, many will suffer: young people, singles, the elderly and especially those already dangling at the bottom of the housing ladder."
