Today, it is increasingly complex to find housing that is both affordable and decent on the streets of Brussels. The city is going through a real housing crisis, which finds its origins, among other things, in the policies implemented in recent decades. They were carried out with the aim of promoting real estate speculation [1] and thus allow gentrification [2] programmed in historically working-class neighborhoods. Accordingly, real estate prices and rents in Brussels have skyrocketed over the last thirty years.
Indeed, between 1987 and 2017, the average price of a house in Brussels increased 8-fold, while that of a municipality like Ixelles increased tenfold 12.2. We also find municipalities like Schaerbeek, Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode and Saint-Gilles which have seen their average prices increase by 10. Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Brussels-City and Forest saw their rents increase respectively by 8.5, 8.1 and 7.7. Thus, the price of a house in Saint-Gilles cost “ only » 37,000 euros thirty years ago, compared to 400,000 in 2017. Additionally, prices have undoubtedly increased significantly since 2017 when the study was completed.
This impressive increase in property prices hides an equally significant increase in the price of Brussels rents. In short, it has become increasingly difficult to become a property owner in Brussels but also to pay affordable rent in a decent setting.
Behind these figures lie processes of progressive exclusion of the working classes from urban centers. Che sharp increase in household prices in Brussels since the beginning of the 1980s has had the effect of attracting certain wealthy populations to acquire real estate in neighborhoods where prices had increased less significantly. By investing in real estate in these neighborhoods, these new populations have produced phenomena of gentrification and contributed to an increase in prices. This was the case in municipalities like Saint-Gilles but also more currently in Anderlecht or Molenbeek.
Faced with this crisis, the groups mobilized for a better right to housing are demanding a reduction in Brussels rents as well as a cap on household prices. They also demand an increase in the number of social housing and an increase in the taxation of landlords, that is to say owners who rent out their properties.
Sources :
- Belgium statistics: Real estate prices
Source: Stuut.info
Related News :