In Flanders, social housing fraud is strictly controlled by detective agencies who verify whether public housing tenants own dwellings abroad. A study was conducted between March 2021 and December 2022 by the Flemish Minister for Housing to objectify this phenomenon. The MR, a political party, wants to tighten the conditions for access to social housing as a declaration of honor is not enough. Out of 677 surveys, 48% showed the existence of property abroad owned by participants who are ineligible for public housing as they own real estate. However, more than 40,000 families are waiting for public housing, which highlights the need to intensify the fight against housing fraud. The Flemish Minister for Housing decided to extend the investigation to other provinces, such as Antwerp. A fraud can be difficult to prove, but those detected must repay public service housing companies for the rent reductions that they have unduly benefited from. The MR wishes to toughen the tone on social housing fraud and wants to update how social housing is allocated, which can free up housing units. Private detectives should more regularly analyze declarations to verify that claims are still true, and all these social housing units should be updated and monitored regularly.
Social housing fraud is subject to strict controls in Flanders and carried out by detective agencies responsible for verifying whether the tenants of public housing are not owners of dwellings abroad. To objectify this phenomenon, a study was carried out between March 2021 and December 2022 by the Flemish Minister for Housing.
The MR wants to tighten the conditions for access to social housing: “A declaration on honor is not enough”
Deputy Yves Evrard (MR) was able to access the results. And they are appealing. In fact, out of 677 surveys carried out, 322 (ie 48% of them) demonstrated the existence of property abroad. However, one of the conditions for the granting of public housing, alongside that linked to income, is not to own a property. No one can claim social housing if they own real estate, even abroad.
“It comes at the expense of the people who actually need it”
More than 40,000 families waiting for public housing
“These figures should concern us, warns the Walloon MP who questioned the Walloon Minister for Housing, Christophe Collignon, in the Local Authorities Commission. In Wallonia, we do not know these figures and we have the impression that we prefer not to know anything. With us, only a sworn statement drawn up when applying for public housing is required. This raises questions since it stops there. And ultimately, it can come at the expense of the people who actually need it. Wouldn’t there therefore be reason to intensify the fight against social housing fraud which, in the end, penalizes the many candidate tenants? Indeed, more than 40,000 families are waiting for public housing, it would be a step forward in terms of social justice”.
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According to the results of the survey, we learn that 295 people own real estate in Morocco, 243 in Turkey and 68 in Italy. And these are not worthless plots of farmland inherited by tenants, but actual real estate.
“All Fraudsters Must Refund”
The Flemish Minister for Housing has therefore decided to extend for one year this investigation carried out by private agencies to identify fraudsters in other provinces such as Antwerp, with a view to achieving more justice on the market. A fraud which however remains difficult to prove, especially since the companies responsible for granting this social housing cannot access data from foreign cadastres.
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With the help of detectives, Flanders therefore identifies fraudsters who benefit from social housing while owning a property abroad. And the fraudsters detected must also repay the public service housing companies for the rent reductions they have unduly benefited from.
“This is an unacceptable situation in terms of the balance of the rental market and access to social housing for those who are entitled to it, he continues. Since the beginning of the legislature, the question of social housing has been a priority and has been of concern to all parliamentarians. This is all the more true since the covid and then the energy crisis have made the subject even more topical, we know in particular that there are enormous resources for the construction of social housing. There must therefore be a better match between the needs of precarious families and the number of existing public housing units”.
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Faced with this situation, the MR wishes to tighten the conditions for access to social housing. The liberal party wishes to draw inspiration from the Flemish model, where it is no longer authorized to apply for social housing if one has significant savings (a person who has more than 25,580 euros in savings or 40,940 euros for a couple or a single person with a child).
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”It is necessary to harden the tone”
“In addition, the way in which social housing is entrusted, in particular at the level of the allocation of the latter, should be updated, which could make it possible to free upexplains Yves Evrard (MR). In Wallonia, only a sworn statement at the time of application is required, which is not sufficient. I think that a more regular analysis should be carried out, for example every five years, this declaration should not last 10 years either because the risk is not zero”.
The pilot experiment conducted in Flanders with the use of private detectives must also be repeated. If the fraud is more difficult to detect given that the property is located abroad, twenty-five households have however been pinned recently in Lierre, they have recently lost their social housing.
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“According to the Flemish minister, it cost a million euros but the return is the multiple of that, he indicates. For the residential port of Antwerp alone, the amount recovered amounts to 1 million euros. Faced with such a result, Flanders decided to extend the framework agreement with the research agencies for one year. In Wallonia, the declaration on honor is one thing but if we manage to prove that it is false, an intervention is necessary, it seems essential to me, he underlines. The area in which I am challenged most often is that of the lack of updating of all these social housing units. Once we have this asset, there is no longer any updating or monitoring of the evolution of the person over time. However, social housing can end up being too big in relation to the needs of the family. It is also possible that the social situation has improved”.
In conclusion, the issue of social housing fraud and the need for tighter controls continues to be a pressing concern in Flanders and Wallonia. The results of the study carried out by the Flemish Minister for Housing have shown that a significant number of tenants who are receiving public housing are, in fact, owners of property abroad. This fraudulent activity undermines the system and prevents those who truly need social housing from accessing it. The MR party has proposed tightening the conditions for access to public housing and calls for regular monitoring and analysis of tenants’ circumstances. Private detective agencies have been used to identify fraudsters, and the detected individuals must repay the rent reductions they have unduly benefited from. The issue of social housing continues to be a priority for policymakers and parliamentarians, as access to affordable housing is essential to achieving social justice.