In 2011, Nathalie signed her lease for a duplex with two bedrooms close to the Porte de Hal belonging to the Régie Foncière de Saint Gilles. These few steps, Nathalie can no longer do today. Following a domestic accident that she blames on the faulty electrical installation of her home, she loses the use of her legs and part of her left arm. “Tendons and muscles out of order, Madam, you will not walk again” the doctor then explains to him.
Walls and a crumbling relationship
The problems had started as soon as she moved in according to Nathalie. “The mover told me “there is a small black spot here, you have a leak” “. Indeed there was a leak, and not just one. Some ripe are “soaked in water” and, according to Nathalie, the management prefers to iron a coat of plaster instead of solving the problem. The tenant had to deal with a lack of hot water and heating but also with a non-compliant electrical installation or even leaky skylights…
With her fourteen-year-old daughter today, Nathalie had to “finding refuge with friends every winter.”
After the accident in 2014, another problem emerged: it was impossible for Nathalie to go up or down the stairs that lead to her bedroom, bathroom and shower. She has been staying upstairs ever since and only comes down when several people are able to help her. Once past his stairs, he still has to go down two flights of stairs to exit the building, his duplex being on the first floor.
In 2015, she launched a transfer request. Today, more than 7 years later, we met Nathalie, in her room, still in the same unsuitable accommodation.
In 2018, following an investigation by the local police, Nathalie received a letter informing her that she risked being removed from the registers of the municipality. Reason: she wouldn’t live here anymore. “I have my bills, all my things, my shower gels. I had everyone who came to see me sign to prove that I was here”. Finally it is his daughter who finds herself removed from the registers for the moment.
The mother of the family contacts the Unia, the independent public institution which fights against discrimination and defends equal opportunities in Belgium. Mediation is set up. The Unia meets the representatives of the municipality. In 2019, the property management company undertakes to relocate Nathalie to suitable accommodation before the start of the school year in September.
One case, two speeches
The results of this mediation are no longer relevant according to the land management. The version of the owner of the premises is quite different. Frédéric Morleghem, head of the land management, says that seeing the request for a transfer drag on (the management claims that it does not have many accommodations suitable for people with reduced mobility and with two bedrooms), Nathalie would have stopped paying her rent. If the person concerned does not dispute the facts, she disputes the cause. Nathalie accuses problems with the CPAS preventing her on several occasions from receiving an income and having her disability recognized.
As for the state of the building, Frédéric Morleghem affirms that he has not been contacted by Nathalie for a long time. “I am responsible for the well-being of 800 to 1000 tenants. There are often heating or other problems but normally we intervene in 48 hours. Here I did not know how to intervene. Madame was not there or not reachable. If she calls me to change the skylights, they will be changed in one or two weeks depending on the availability of the workers.”
Today legal proceedings are underway to resolve the late payment case. The decision is expected to fall in April. If no agreement is reached, the management plans to terminate the lease. But Frédéric Morleghem says to himself “always open to discussion.”