PVDA: “Social housing to a low point under the Jambon government” | Inland

The PVDA took a close look at the figures on the net additional rental of social housing in Flanders. The party concludes from this that it has been since 2013 that so few social housing has been added in Flanders. The decrease between 2020 (1,922) and 2021 (668) is also striking. “There are more than 170,000 people on the waiting list. At this rate, it will take no less than 250 years for all of them to have an affordable roof over their heads. That cannot be justified in a rich region like Flanders”, says D’Haese.

But according to Diependaele, the PVDA looks at the figures in a one-sided way. In this way the party only looks at one category. “In 2021, the social housing companies will have built 1,386 social rental homes. In addition, 581 new homes were built through the Social Rental Offices and 841 new social housing for sale. In total, this means 2,808 new social homes for the whole of 2021,” explains the competent minister.

According to the PVDA, the low figures in 2021 have to do with the major merger operation of the housing companies that Minister Diependaele has implemented. “The sector warned from the start that the construction of social housing would come to a halt as a result. Unfortunately, those fears have become reality: the social housing sector has come to a standstill,” says D’Haese.

Minister Diependaele does not agree with that analysis either. The N-VA minister points out that a historically high amount of 4.5 billion euros is foreseen for investments in social housing. “But corona and the increase in raw materials have ensured that the construction pace has slowed down.” According to Diependaele, the reform of the sector should help accelerate the pace of construction in the long term.