“Barely 8 percent of 170,000 people waiting for social housing on…

Groen wants all those waiting for social housing to receive a rental premium and not just after waiting four years, as is the case today. People on the waiting list have to move to the private rental market, where prices have gone through the roof in recent years.

The figures indicate that last year 18,991 prospective tenants received a form to apply for a rental premium. Of these, 8,953 people sent the completed form to the Flanders Housing Agency. That is less than the year before, when there were 11,549. The Agency examined the forms and approved 6,059 applications last year. In total, 13,522 households, of which 6,059 were new applications, applied for the rental premium in 2020.

“It concerns barely 1 in 12 Flemish people on the waiting list. Candidate tenants first have to manage on the private rental market for four years without support. In addition, it appears that only half of the entitled parties actually apply for a premium. The conditions of the premium are barely achievable. The minister’s answer shows that the rent is the biggest obstacle for vulnerable people to apply for a rental premium,” Moerenhout complains.

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