Nowhere are there as many empty social homes as in Flemish Brabant: “Renovations put pressure on waiting lists”

The province of Flemish Brabant is struggling with a lot of vacancy in the field of social housing compared to the rest of Flanders. For example, at social housing company Providentia it is 8 percent. “But that vacancy is actually necessary to thoroughly renovate the homes,” says general manager Leen Deraedt. “That is why it is important that we can add more, so that we can achieve a mix of new construction and renovation. Because social housing must continue to be added, because they are the answer to the waiting lists,” adds Bart Vranken of Woonpunt Zennevallei.

But building new social housing is not easy in our region, according to the housing companies. “We are in an expensive region to build anyway, and on the other hand in a densely populated one. Permits are very often challenged,” says Vranken. They also notice this at the Inter-Vilvoorde Housing Society. “If we have available land today and want to start a social housing project, it will take at least six to seven years before everything is administratively completed,” says general manager Olivier Moelaert.

And that has an effect on the waiting lists, because the people whose house is being renovated are given priority for another social home. These long waiting times do not seem to be coming to an end yet. “If you know that 300 social tenants are registered every year, and compare that number to the number of renovations we are currently carrying out, it is actually a drop in the bucket,” Moelaert concludes.