Social tenants checked for property abroad, 1 person runs into problems

There are also checks in Kortrijk. Both Wonen Regio Kortrijk and social rental agency De Poort are working on effective controls. For example, Wonen Regio Kortrijk had the contract of one of its tenants terminated this week.

Housing company Wonen Regio Kortrijk worked with its own control procedure. This states, among other things, that if there is a serious suspicion of ownership abroad, a file is started with an external investigation firm. He first conducts a preliminary investigation and tries to map out which immovable property the tenant has and makes a description of the property (home, building land, agricultural land, commercial premises, etc.). It is on the basis of the conclusions of that preliminary investigation that a formal investigation can be decided, with the possible consequence that the contract can be terminated.

No witch hunt

In the past year, Wonen Regio Kortrijk carried out effective checks. For example, there are currently 6 positive preliminary studies, 3 of which resulted in positive effective studies. In 1 of those 3 investigations on the merits, a verdict was handed down this week. “The tenant turned out to own property abroad, which is contrary to our tenant regulations. In concrete terms, the tenant’s contract has been legally dissolved and the social discount that the tenant has enjoyed since 2015 is now being reclaimed,” says chairwoman Veronique Decaluwé.

“We never intended to start a witch hunt. We must not always assume the evil of man. On the other hand, it is true that we have rules and that must be followed. If it turns out that people do not respect those rules, then we intervene, as happened this week. We will continue to monitor compliance with the regulations.”