Belgium: leaving an empty home will now be an offense in Wallonia
To solve the problem of vacant homes in Wallonia, one of the French-speaking regions of Belgium, the regional government has decreed that leaving a dwelling inhabited will henceforth be an offence. This is part of the plan, finally adopted by parliament on Wednesday, “to strengthen the fight against unoccupied housing”.
“Keeping a building or part of a building intended for housing unoccupied will henceforth constitute an offence”, summed up Christophe Collignon, the Walloon Minister for Housing, in the columns of the evening. “This measure has been expected for 10 years. In a few months, we will be able to put some unoccupied housing back on the market, ”said the Minister to our Belgian colleagues.
A fine between 500 and 12,500 euros per accommodation
Concretely, any dwelling with a consumption of less than 15 cubic meters of water per year or 100 kWh per year will be considered unoccupied, said Elio Di Rupo, the Minister-President of Wallonia, on his account. Twitter. “A judge will be able to order every useful measure in order to occupy a dwelling” and that “fines are also made during long periods of vacancy”, he further indicated.
“With this arsenal, Wallonia will fight against the many empty homes by encouraging owners to consider any possibility allowing optimal occupancy”, congratulated Elio Di Rupo. Because “with the housing crisis that we are experiencing in Wallonia, it is no longer normal today to leave certain properties inhabited. »
According to Le Soir, the fine applicable to owners will amount to between 500 and 12,500 euros per dwelling, “depending on the length of the facade and the number of floors of the dwelling, for a period of twelve months without interruption of vacancy”.