The lack of housing seriously affects Lanzarote and the Canary Islands, but it is also a problem that affects many corners of Europe. Among them, the capital of the European Union, where rents increased by 10.6% compared to a year ago.
The local authorities of the Brussels region, made up of 19 municipalities, have begun to requisition empty homes to offer them on the rental market at social prices. It is estimated that there are 4,500 empty homes in the city.
The measure is based on a 20-year-old law, the Housing Code, which stipulates that an unused property in Brussels is illegal, and allows municipalities to requisition it, renovate it and put it on the market.
Until now, no Brussels municipality had dared to do so, since the same law allowed the owner of the requisitioned home to claim it, once renovated. Most of them need to be rehabilitated.
However, a change to that same legislation in 2022 modified the conditions, and it is no longer possible for the owner to claim the home until the municipality that requisitioned it has recovered the expense, which may take several decades.
In statements to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir, the liberal Vincent de Wolf, mayor of Etterbeek, one of the 19 Brussels consistories, explained: "Our goal is to respect the rights of all, but if an owner strongly opposes, I have no doubt that public authorities will act for the right to housing."
