Brussels offers increased funding to people occupying vacant housing

The funds aim to cushion the housing crisis gripping the city and provide vulnerable groups with some additional relief

Last week, authorities in the Brussels Capital Region decided to raise the budget for supporting the occupation of empty buildings for social purposes to 1,3 million euros. This means that the budget rose by 35% compared to 2021.

The increase was proposed by Minister-President Rudi Vervoort as well as the Minister of Health and Social Action Alain Maron and Nawal Ben Hamou, Secretary of State for Housing, who cited COVID-19, the migration crisis and the crippling affordable housing crisis in the city as major reasons they support this type of emergency accommodation.

Using vacant spaces in the city

Essentially, this fund tries to find a legal framework to support and formalise squatting communities – people occupying empty buildings around the city. Furthermore, the fund also wants to cover the energy and insurance costs and, where applicable, the costs linked to the arrangements making it possible to guarantee the safety of the occupants.

However, there are a few criteria that occupants of vacant buildings need to fulfil in order to receive funding. First of all, the occupants need to be vulnerable people according to the local administration's criteria, which include minors and families with minor children. Furthermore, the occupants must have an agreement with the owner of the building and there must be less than 100 occupants on a given site.

The link between housing and social programmes

According to Minister Alain Maron, the city has around 6 million square metres of living space tied up in vacant homes and these types of programmes can go a long way to untie this resource. He also explained that they are the missing link between social policy and housing.

Temporary occupation of vacant property has been a growing phenomenon in Brussels in recent years, with the compounding crises. Many people have seen a loss of income and have had a hard time finding accommodation, leading to a rise in homelessness, according to a statement of the city.

Rudi Vervoort, Minister-President of Brussels was quoted in a press release saying: “The Region has taken its share of responsibility to meet the challenge of emergency accommodation and to join the dynamics of mobilizing unoccupied buildings for social purposes. These are one-off means which obviously should not make us forget the imperative need to continue the search for structural and lasting solutions.”