131 million for Brussels social housing blocked
The payment of 131 million euros to the Brussels Regional Housing Company (BGHM) has been blocked. MR chairman Georges-Louis Bouchez is withholding the funds as long as Lotfi Mostefa (PS) remains at the head of the Anderlechtse Haard, the capital's largest social housing company, where directors are suspected of cronyism. Brussels Minister-President Boris Dilliès (MR) supports this move: according to his cabinet, refinancing can only proceed if there are concrete guarantees that the sector's governance is in order.
This is not a symbolic amount. The 131 million is this year's installment of the 400 million euros that was set to flow to the BGHM during this legislative term; under the multi-year plan, 75 million is to follow in 2027, 80 million in 2028, and 114 million in 2029. The cabinet of State Secretary for Housing Karine Lalieux (PS) confirms that the payment, which was expected this summer, has not arrived. Without that money, the housing company may no longer be able to pay its bills as early as this month.
Those affected are the tenants and the people on the waiting list. The BGHM finances renovations and new housing projects for local companies. If the money stays away, completions and construction works will be delayed, precisely in a region where tens of thousands of families are waiting for social housing. On the PS side, it is argued that thousands of Brussels residents are already struggling to make ends meet while this file remains deadlocked.
For residents, nothing changes regarding their rental contract or rent price today: the blockage concerns investment funds, not current benefits or rent subsidies. Anyone with a pending application or a planned renovation project should check in writing with their own social housing company whether the schedule is changing, and keep a close watch on communications regarding relocations and construction work. The Dilliès government still needs to give the green light; the file is on the table just as budget talks are beginning.