Today, Brussels residents can already receive a discount of approximately 25,000 euros when purchasing an average home costing 275,000 euros. Bogovic calls this “substantial” and wants to increase the discount. He also insists on an easier and faster procedure for permits and is in favor of the Hasselt model of social housing, in which residents can become owners.
Vandenbempt first and foremost wants to cap rent prices, “regulate them,” he calls it. This can be done by making the reference rental price binding. This is already calculated today and takes the quality of the home into account.
The system already exists in Paris, but according to Bogovic it does not work there. Only Vienna may be an exception because a large part of that city is in government hands. But Open VLD does not think that is a good idea for Brussels, because private investors will then stay away and the heritage will systematically age.
Public bank
Vandenbempt sees merit in the government as a builder, but also as a regulator of rental and purchase prices by having homes built on public land. She also advocates a public bank that grants owners an interest-free loan for the renovation of their home, as in Germany. They can then repay the bank because their energy bill will have decreased.
Otherwise, Vandenbempt fears further speculation and cites the example of Thurn & Taxis, “where public land was first sold for next to nothing, namely 30 million euros, while the private owner is now building luxury apartments there for half a million euros, which ordinary Brussels resident cannot afford.”
Bogovic points to estimates of 45 to 50 billion euros to renovate Brussels’ heritage. “That far exceeds the Brussels budget.” For her part, Vandenbempt wants to solve this by channeling more federal money to the Brussels region.
