Housing: EUR 400M for the SLRB, 1,000 public housing units

Coalition Agreement: Announced Commitments

The agreement of 12 February 2026 provides for a massive unlocking for housing:

• SLRB: injection of EUR 400 million
• 1,000+ public housing units over the parliamentary term
• Be Home doubled: 160 → EUR 320/month
• Renolution replaced by zero-interest loans (EUR 200 million envelope until 2029)
• Brownfield sites:
  • Wiels, Avijl, Donderberg: preserved
  • 18-month moratorium: Keyenbempt, Calevoet, Josaphat, Meylemeersch
  • Chant des Cailles + Dames Blanches: confirmed
  • Neo (Heysel): relaunched
• Simplification of urban planning procedures

These commitments address the inherited structural crisis (62,234 households waiting, Housing Fund at a standstill, sharply rising rents). Their implementation will need to be monitored, particularly the SLRB's absorption capacity and the effective replacement of Renolution by zero-interest loans.

Clearing the Renolution backlog

In February 2026, EUR 56 million was released to clear the outstanding Renolution applications:

• EUR 50 million via Urban.Brussels + EUR 6 million via Leefmilieu Brussel
• 2,692 applications already validated (~EUR 41 million)
• 600+ applications still to be processed by mid-2026
• All payments to be completed before end of 2026
• The new zero-interest loan system will take over from 2027 (EUR 66 million/year envelope)

Zero-interest loan: accessibility concerns

The replacement of Renolution premiums with a zero-interest loan raises concerns. All Brussels homes must reach EPC label E by 2033, but the details of the new mechanism are not yet defined (clarification expected by January 2027 according to building federation Embuild).

Embuild considers premiums and loans should be complementary and fears a massive postponement of renovations until 2032 if the scheme is not attractive enough. A professor of tax law at VUB warns that the lower middle class risks being excluded: a loan, even at zero interest, requires repayment capacity that modest households lack. The mechanism is described as "budget-neutral" for the Region, but at the cost of shifting the risk to households.

Rents 2025: all communes above EUR 1,000

The full Federia 2025 barometer confirms the generalised rent increase across the Brussels Region: +3.7% year-on-year for all property types. The average house rent now exceeds EUR 2,000/month. Notably, all 19 communes now show an average rent above EUR 1,000, with Jette as the cheapest commune at EUR 1,036/month.

The contraction of the rental supply (−10% leases signed in 2024 despite high demand) amplifies the upward pressure. The 20% threshold above the reference rent, which has constituted a presumption of abuse since 1 May 2025, will be tested in this context of scarcity.

Source: RTBF / Federia (5 March 2026).

Asbestos in the Machtens towers in Molenbeek (March 2026)

The two Machtens towers in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (approximately 200 social housing units in total, ~100 per tower) face a dual problem of asbestos and mould. Residents on the upper floors have been relocated for fire safety reasons, whilst those on the lower floors remain in place with instructions not to drill or sand the walls.

The towers are scheduled for demolition, but no concrete rehousing plan has been communicated to residents. The situation illustrates the challenges facing the Brussels social housing stock, which suffers from both ageing infrastructure and chronic underinvestment.

Source: La Libre (9 March 2026).

Energy performance: 32% of energy-guzzling homes (March 2026)

According to an analysis by Immoweb and Belfius (March 2026), 32% of homes for sale in Brussels carry an EPC label F or G (energy-guzzling) — the worst ratio of the three regions (Flanders: 22%, Wallonia: 26%). Conversely, only 29% of Brussels homes for sale display a favourable label (A, B or C), compared to 66% in Flanders and 38% in Wallonia.

Brussels regulations require that F and G-labelled homes must disappear by 2033. However, the current renovation pace would need to be multiplied by nearly four to meet this deadline. Renovation credits have risen by +51% between 2023 and 2025, but the volume remains insufficient.

The replacement of Renolution premiums with zero-interest loans (decided in February 2026) raises concerns: a loan, even interest-free, requires repayment capacity that modest households lack — risking the exclusion of the lower middle class from the renovation process.

Source: BRUZZ / Immoweb-Belfius (March 2026).

Residential attractiveness: a paradigm to rethink

A study by Brussels Studies (no. 172, Berns, Lenel, Schaut & Van Hamme, 2022), based on Statbel data (residential trajectories 2001-2015) and 99 qualitative interviews, challenges 30 years of Brussels residential attractiveness policy.

Key findings:

• Middle-class families with children represent only ~15% of departures — this is not the dominant profile of the exodus
• 40% of leavers return to the region where their parents came from ("residential socialisation")
• 46% of households leaving Brussels remain tenants at destination — home ownership does not retain them
• The migration balance has been structurally negative for decades
• Paradoxically, a greener environment correlates with higher emigration

The thesis: attractiveness policy targets the wrong public (middle-class families) with the wrong tools (home ownership support). The authors propose redirecting towards populations suited to dense urban environments: single-parent households, elderly persons, intellectual middle classes, populations in life transitions.

Source: Brussels Studies no. 172 (DOI: 10.4000/brussels.6192), October 2022.

Audit of the Saint-Josse Social Letting Agency (March 2026)

On 22 March 2026, during budget presentations, the Secretary of State for Housing announced the submission of an audit on the Social Letting Agency (AIS) of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. The audit reveals suspected irregularities and fraud in the allocation of housing. The file was referred to the Brussels public prosecutor (February 2026). Bruxelles Logement has filed a complaint and become a civil party. A law firm has been consulted. The audit itself is not public due to personal data — a legal opinion is pending.

Social Letting Agencies play a central role in Brussels' affordable housing system: they act as intermediaries between private landlords and tenants on modest incomes, with rental guarantees funded by the Region. Irregularities in the management of an AIS raise questions about the oversight mechanisms across the network of 24 Brussels Social Letting Agencies.

Sources: budget presentation in the Brussels Parliament (22 March 2026), BX1 (27 March 2026).

PFAS and Residential Areas

PFAS contamination affects residential areas in Brussels. Around the Sicli site in Uccle, a 100-metre safety perimeter prohibits consuming fruit and vegetables from gardens. TFA in drinking water exceeds the EU standard (in force since January 2026) in all 6 reservoirs. Decontamination and water treatment costs could impact residential charges.

Source: Brussels Environment, 2025-2026.

Airbnb: 90% of properties illegal (April 2026)

A BRUZZ investigation reveals that 90% of the 2,788 tourist accommodation properties listed on Airbnb in Brussels are illegal — only 267 are properly registered with the Region. The remaining ~2,500 properties operate without the required urban planning permit or registration.

The City of Brussels has been the most active in enforcement: alderman Ans Persoons (Vooruit) reported that 515 properties have been recovered from tourist rental back to the residential market. Minister-president Dilliès has promised a reform of the regulatory framework to strengthen enforcement and simplify the registration process.

The scale of illegal short-term rentals exacerbates the housing crisis by removing units from the long-term rental market, contributing to the upward pressure on rents documented above.

Source: BRUZZ (April 2026).

Foyer Anderlechtois audit: governance gaps (April 2026)

An audit of the Foyer Anderlechtois, one of the Brussels social housing companies (SISPs), reveals significant governance failures:

• 208 out of 261 invoices were awarded without a public tender procedure
• An illegal derogation committee was operating within the organisation, bypassing standard procurement rules
• General governance shortcomings in oversight and internal controls

The audit raises broader questions about the governance of Brussels social housing companies (SISPs) managed by the SLRB, at a time when the government is injecting EUR 400 million into the social housing sector.

Source: DH (April 2026).

Lake Side (Tour & Taxis): permit delivered (2 April 2026)

Urban.brussels delivered on 2 April 2026 the planning permit for the Lake Side project (Nextensa) at Tour & Taxis — the final development phase of the site. The project represents an investment of EUR 555 million over 8 years (completion expected 2032).

The procedure lasted 3 years (since March 2023), with two public inquiries and 374 objections. The conditions imposed include reduced density and a minimum of subsidised housing. The headquarters of Proximus will move to the site from 2028.

Source: BX1 / La Libre / L'Avenir / DH / Nextensa (2 April 2026). Confidence: official (urban.brussels permit).