Dalle made his proposal after presenting figures on the number of homeless people in Flanders. These figures show that just under 20,000 people in Flanders do not have a permanent roof over their heads. More than 40 percent of them are younger than thirty years old, a quarter are minors.
To tackle the problem of homelessness, Dalle sees a solution in the construction of more social housing. “Building new social housing is going too slowly,” the minister believes. “Every year, 2,500 new social homes are built throughout Flanders. A city like Amsterdam has the same ambition.”
Dalle wants to increase the ambition to 3,000 new social homes per year, so that at least 15,000 homes will be added in the next legislature. “The social housing companies have undergone a major reform with the mergers,” says Dalle. “The ambition of 3,000 social homes annually must be possible for the next Flemish government.”
However, the minister says that he realizes that this additional objective will not eliminate the waiting list of people who are entitled to such a home. There are currently approximately 170,000 people on the waiting list.
The minister therefore also wants to use other methods to provide housing. He refers to a project with residential studios in Koekelberg and wants to be able to impose on building developers that part of a real estate project must be reserved for social housing.
The minister is also sympathetic to Housing First projects. Housing First offers sustainable housing to people who suffer from psychological difficulties or addiction problems. Dalle will release approximately 970,000 euros for such projects in 2023 and 2024.
Dalle also wants to use vacant properties. “There are 20,000 empty buildings in Brussels. When you see how many people don’t have a roof over their heads, it’s a moral problem.”
