SLRB: 1,000+ public housing units and financial consolidation

PSRD 2026-2035: EUR 61 million unlocked for renovation (10-11 July 2026)

On 10 and 11 July 2026, State Secretary for Housing Karine Lalieux (PS) announced that the Brussels government had unlocked several housing-policy funding envelopes, including EUR 61 million for the SLRB under the Strategic Sustainable Renovation Plan (PSRD) 2026-2035. For this PSRD period, 219 projects are planned and 117 are already under construction.

This funding concerns the SLRB as the regional institution responsible for renovating the social housing stock. It is separate from the governance crisis affecting the Foyer anderlechtois, a public service housing company under the SLRB's oversight and covered in the following sections of this dossier: on one hand, a confirmed institutional investment in renovating the stock; on the other, an ongoing oversight procedure targeting a failing local operator.

Source(s): La DH (11 July 2026); BX1 (11 July 2026). Confidence: official (direct ministerial announcement).

Government agreement: what changes

The agreement of 12 February 2026 provides for two structural measures for the SLRB:

• 1,000+ public housing units during the legislature, with a budget of 400 million EUR
• Financial consolidation of the SLRB, whose budgetary situation required a recovery plan

The end of the caretaker period unblocks the multi-year renovation plan and construction projects that had been frozen since June 2024.

Asset sales to settle debt

To clean up the SLRB's finances, the government has decided to sell several assets:

• "Ariane" site in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert — land to be sold
• "Palais" site in Schaerbeek — land to be sold
• ~200 social housing units to be put up for sale

These disposals aim to reduce the SLRB's debt to the Region. The 400M EUR credit line over 3.5 years is maintained to avoid cash flow difficulties, and a deconsolidation fund will be created to remove the SLRB's debt from the regional budget.

Reform calendar

The government has announced a timeline for social housing reform:

• 15 March 2026: reform principles
• 31 May 2026: complete reform
• 1 January 2027: entry into force

The SLRB's debt stands at EUR 197 million. The sales of the Ariane (~EUR 30M) and Palais (~EUR 22-23M) sites should yield EUR 52-53M, out of a total of EUR 73M in assets to be disposed of in 2026.

Source: housing-sector card / DPR, 2026.

Inherited context

The SLRB coordinates social housing policy in the Brussels Region. It oversees 16 Sociétés Immobilières de Service Public (SISP) that directly manage the housing stock. With over 62,000 households on the waiting list, social housing in Brussels is under structural pressure.

The existing stock requires major renovation work — thermal insulation, compliance upgrades, and heavy renovation of dilapidated buildings. These investments require multi-year budget commitments that were impossible under caretaker government.

What was blocked (June 2024 — February 2026)

• The adoption of a new multi-year renovation plan
• Funding for new construction projects
• Arbitrations between renovating the existing stock and building new housing
• Implementation of an updated allocation policy

The SISPs continued to handle day-to-day management (maintenance, allocation according to existing lists), but all structural investment was frozen.

SLRB social plan (30 April 2026)

On 30 April 2026, SLRB management announced a social plan internally. Nine layoffs are planned — three statutory and six contractual — together with economic unemployment for six additional contractual employees, "without any guarantee of job retention" according to the unions.

The information was made public the same day by the unions — CGSP and CSC services publics on the French-speaking side, ACOD and ACV on the Dutch-speaking side — who denounce a decision taken "without consultation and without prospect". The SLRB official press release of 30 April, in response to these statements, indicates that the staff concerned will be informed "as a priority in an appropriate setting during the week of 4 May" and regrets that "information exchanged confidentially with the trade unions" has been made public.

Justifications put forward

These two versions coexist in official communication. The staff briefing, scheduled for the week of 4 May 2026, should clarify the rationale retained.

Tension with the Regional Policy Declaration

The Regional Policy Declaration (DPR) 2026-2029 provides for a moratorium on regional civil-service employment without compulsory layoffs. The social plan announced on 30 April thus opens a factual gap between the DPR commitment and its execution within a key regional housing institution, in the middle of the post-formation legislature. To be tracked through parliamentary questions in the Housing Committee (week of 4-8 May 2026) and post-briefing communication of 4 May.

Sources: BRUZZ (30 April 2026); DH / Belga (30 April 2026); SLRB — Press release, 30 April 2026. Confidence: official (rank-1 SLRB press release, figures confirmed by cabinet).

Gandhi 2 tower (Molenbeek): 57 social housing units at risk of prolonged vacancy

The SISP Le Logement Molenbeekois (Molenbeekse Woningen) is rehousing the tenants of the two Gandhi 2 and Gandhi 4 towers, located on avenue Mahatma Gandhi in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (Ossegem site). The project is led in partnership with the SLRB and the Bouwmeester Maître Architecte (BMA Brussels); the architecture competition was closed on 14 December 2023 with a budget of €25,709,215.86 excl. VAT for both towers.

According to figures reported in the press (BRUZZ 29/04 and DH 26/04):

The SLRB multi-year budget covers the renovation of Gandhi 4 but not that of Gandhi 2. Without additional financing, the renovation of Gandhi 2 would be postponed to the next decennial plan of the SLRB. The SLRB recalls that "authorising studies does not imply a financing promise".

Molenbeek social housing context

The Molenbeek context is strained: about 1,100 social housing units require renovation, for an estimated need of €200 million over ten years, while the regional multi-year envelope barely exceeds €70 million.

Sources: BRUZZ (29 April 2026); DH (26 April 2026); BMA Brussels — Gandhi towers 2 and 4. Confidence: estimated (budget figures from the press, BMA rank-1 for the original competition — SLRB multi-year budget not attached).

Foyer Anderlechtois audit: governance failures (April 2026)

An audit by the SLRB (2024-2025) of the Foyer Anderlechtois (3,800 units, 167 employees) revealed major organisational shortcomings:

• Procurement: of 261 invoices analysed, 208 without tender or purchase order, 138 without proof of delivery
• Rent arrears: 798 tenants with arrears >EUR 500 at end-2024, no reminders sent in 2024
• Internal controls: no anomaly reporting, no risk analyses
• Governance: confusion between board/chairperson roles, management "in crisis mode"

The SLRB also deemed illegal the derogation committee for social housing allocation, created without a statutory basis. As of January 2026, 46% of recommendations were operational, 52% in progress.

Source: BX1, DH, L'Avenir (1 April 2026). Confidence: official (SLRB audit).

AISSJ scandal in Saint-Josse: the SLRB's supervisory mission questioned (10 June 2026)

BRUZZ's revelations of 9 June 2026 about the AISSJ — the social rental agency of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, bankrupt since October 2025, where a regional audit reportedly found irregularities in 86% of the allocation files examined — spill over into the parliamentary debate opened by the Foyer anderlechtois dossier.

Institutional clarification: an AIS (social rental agency, an intermediary with private landlords, supervised by the Brussels Housing administration) is not a SISP (public service housing company, coordinated by the SLRB). But the MR group leader in the Brussels Parliament broadens the question of oversight: she recalls that the Brussels Housing Code has, since 2020, entrusted the SLRB with an explicit mission to coordinate and supervise all public service housing companies — mechanisms that have, in her view, 'never been activated, for lack of political will'. The MR asks for the 'Foyer anderlechtois' parliamentary inquiry committee to be extended to the Saint-Josse case; Team Fouad Ahidar calls for an inquiry committee into the entire social housing sector; Ecolo argues for handling the cases separately.

For the SLRB, the stakes are twofold: the effective scope of its supervisory mission over the SISPs, and the perimeter of the future inquiry committee, which could examine the whole supervision chain of Brussels social housing.

Sources: BRUZZ (10 June 2026). Confidence: unconfirmed (political statements, audit not public).

Foyer anderlechtois: contested chairmanship and threat of direct supervision (15-18 June 2026)

In mid-June 2026, the governance of the Foyer anderlechtois remains in open crisis. According to the press, an extraordinary board meeting held on 15 June voted a temporary removal of the chairmanship, a decision immediately described by the body's management as "not compliant with the rules". A new chairwoman is designated for now, but this removal is confirmed only provisionally. In this context, the SLRB threatens to take direct control of the company, under its mission of supervising public service housing companies.

In parallel, La Libre published documents reporting a cross-party "system D", in which an elected officials' messaging channel allegedly competed with the official waiting list for the allocation of social housing.

These elements are reported by the press while internal procedures are contested and the situation is evolving; they are to be confirmed.

Sources: La DH Bruxelles, BRUZZ, La Libre (15-18 June 2026). Confidence: unconfirmed (contested procedures, evolving situation).

Inquiry committee and failures in the oversight chain (June 2026)

On 5 June 2026, the Brussels Parliament voted in plenary to establish an inquiry committee on the Foyer anderlechtois, installed on 8 June. Its work covers both the local management of the public service housing company and the regional oversight mission entrusted to the SLRB.

Oversight questioned at the top. According to the press, the former SLRB chair (who resigned on 3 February 2026) had been, since late 2022, co-manager of a company that had signed a commercial lease with the Foyer anderlechtois in 2023; at the time of his resignation, that company owed approximately 23,900 euros in rental arrears to the body he was otherwise supposed to oversee. Summoned by the committee, he did not appear at the 24 June hearing, citing a scheduling conflict, and indicated he wished to be heard shortly.

A recognised blind spot. Before the committee, SLRB management stated it had received no complaint about irregularities at the Foyer before the VRT Pano report, and recalled that direct substitution can only occur after two formal warnings. A 2019 audit already placed the company "below the average" of Brussels operators.

A committee in disarray. The first hearings (week of 22 June) were marked by a tight agenda, witnesses summoned the day before, documents not transmitted, and a parallel criminal investigation that deprives the committee of evidence seized by the judiciary. An opposition group leader described the situation as "organised chaos".

Blocked chairmanship. On the ground, governance remains deadlocked: the emergency board meeting on 20 June failed to reach quorum and could not deliberate, as the socialist wing was absent; the appointment of a new chairperson, decided on 15 June, remains legally contested.

Note — presumption of innocence. A press investigation (L'Echo, picked up by BX1, 25 June 2026) examined a business centre owned by two elected officials linked to the new Foyer anderlechtois chairmanship. Based on data from the Belgian Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, the investigation notes that this address reportedly hosted 560 companies, of which 108 were struck off by default, 34 are in judicial liquidation and 11 are in bankruptcy. Anti-money-laundering experts, cited anonymously by the press, see this as "an indicator of fraud". No charges have been established, no judicial investigation targeting that company is mentioned, and no response from those concerned has been obtained at this stage. These elements are reported with all due reservation.

Sources: BX1 — former SLRB chair did not appear (24 June 2026); BX1 — SLRB management received no complaint before VRT report (23 June 2026); BX1 — "organised chaos" at the committee (22 June 2026); BX1 — board without quorum (20 June 2026); BX1 — struck-off and shell companies (25 June 2026); La Libre — creation of the inquiry committee (5 June 2026). Confidence: official (committee creation, statements before committee); unconfirmed (press suspicions about business centre, presumption of innocence).

Rapporteur resigns, hearing cut short and deadline maintained (30 June-3 July 2026)

Rapporteur's resignation. On 30 June 2026, the inquiry committee's rapporteur (Les Engagés) announced she was stepping down from that role, refusing to co-sign a final report she considered impossible to produce "with the necessary rigour" given the pace imposed: hearings of 10 to 12 hours, six days a week. She also pointed to witnesses who appeared "clearly restrained", after coaching organised by the Foyer anderlechtois's lawyer and a coaching firm hired at the company's expense. Her party, Les Engagés, states that this resignation does not call into question the need to shed light on the case.

Removed chairman's hearing cut short. On 3 July 2026, the hearing of the Foyer anderlechtois's chairman (removed since 15 June) ended in under two hours: after an opening statement, he invoked his right to remain silent, saying he trusts the justice system and does not wish to answer lawmakers' questions because of the ongoing criminal investigation.

21 July deadline maintained. The same day, the majority (MR-PS-Les Engagés-Groen-Vooruit-CD&V) rejected, by 40 votes to 25, a request to extend the committee's work. An opposition lawmaker (N-VA) called the workload untenable, as committee members cannot simultaneously review thousands of documents and conduct hearings.

Institutional clarification. The committee, installed on 8 June, is chaired by the president of the Brussels Parliament himself, not by a PS lawmaker as an early-June provisional allocation key had suggested.

Sources: La DH/Les Sports+: rapporteur's resignation (30 June 2026); L'Avenir: removed chairman's hearing cut short (3 July 2026); La DH/Les Sports+: Parliament maintains 21 July deadline (3 July 2026); RTBF: Bertin Mampaka to chair the committee (9 June 2026). Confidence: official (parliamentary vote, confirmed resignation, chairmanship); unconfirmed (reasons for resignation as reported by the press).

Two formal warnings and Article 78 under review (4 July 2026)

Before the parliamentary inquiry committee, the Brussels State Secretary for Housing, Karine Lalieux (PS), set out on 4 July 2026 the state of the oversight procedure launched by the SLRB against the Foyer anderlechtois: a first warning was sent on 18 June, followed by a second on 1 July. The Brussels Housing Code allows the SLRB to take over from a SISP after two consecutive warnings, where a situation undermining its internal functioning persists.

Alongside these two warnings, the SLRB is examining the activation of Article 78 of the Brussels Housing Code. This mechanism would allow the government to appoint a special commissioner, tasked with taking the place of the management bodies that no longer properly fulfil their obligations, in order to restore governance in line with the principles of legality, transparency and sound management. A letter to that effect was also sent by the SLRB to the Foyer on 1 July.

On the ground, the Foyer's board remains divided over the question of the chairmanship, contested since mid-June.

Sources: RTBF (4 July 2026); BX1 (4 July 2026); La Libre (4 July 2026). Confidence: unconfirmed (statement before an inquiry committee, reported identically by 3 independent sources).

Second rapporteur resigns: N-VA quits too (4-6 July 2026)

On 4 July 2026, new rapporteur Louis de Clippele (MR) — who replaced Marie Cruysmans after her 30 June resignation — said in a first public statement that the 3 July hearing of Lotfi Mostefa "did not reduce the doubts." He said the committee already has enough evidence to justify "ambitious reforms": more transparency in housing allocation, the removal of discretionary allocation margins, and reforms reaching beyond the Foyer anderlechtois case to the whole SISP sector. He added: "we are not substituting ourselves for justice." The same day, Ecolo group leader Zakia Khattabi repeated her "organised chaos" assessment and called the Brussels social-housing sector "structurally deficient."

On 6 July 2026, a second rapporteur resigned: Gilles Verstraeten (N-VA) stepped down too, calling it a "sham committee" and refusing to co-sign a final report drafted, in his view, under "inhuman time pressure." He accused the PS of engineering a rushed timeline so the party could claim a thorough investigation despite what he considered inadequate working conditions. Rapporteur Kalvin Soiresse (Ecolo) repeated his own threat not to sign the final report if its findings fall short of his expectations. No replacement has been named for the N-VA seat so far.

Point to watch: several outlets cite 17 July as the last plenary session where the report would be debated and voted, while 21 July is separately cited as the committee's firm deadline (set on 5 June). BGM has not been able to resolve this date discrepancy at this stage and flags it as such rather than arbitrarily picking one.

Sources: 21News (4 July 2026); L'Avenir (6 July 2026); La DH/Les Sports+ (6 July 2026); BX1 (6 July 2026). Confidence: official (resignation confirmed, statements in committee); unconfirmed (political motives alleged by the resigning rapporteur).

Hearings close, government commissioner under review (6-8 July 2026)

143 hours of hearings, 50 witnesses. The inquiry committee closed its hearings on Monday 6 July 2026, after 143 cumulative hours of work and the hearing of 50 witnesses. The vote on the final report and its recommendations is confirmed for Friday 17 July in plenary session — the 21 July deadline, set when the committee was created on 5 June, remains the formal end date of its mandate. This confirmed schedule resolves the date discrepancy flagged in the previous section.

The Brussels minister in charge of the VGC, Cieltje Van Achter (N-VA), called the exercise a "farce". On 8 July, Ecolo group leader Zakia Khattabi went further than her 4 July assessment ("organised chaos") by denouncing ongoing "sabotage": documents delivered at the last minute, a cancelled meeting of Parliament's expanded Bureau, no clear method to integrate the groups' proposals into the final report.

Government commissioner: the minister confirms she is studying the option. On 7 July, State Secretary for Housing Karine Lalieux (PS) confirmed she is considering "very concretely" appointing a government commissioner to the Foyer anderlechtois — the concrete implementation of Article 78 of the Brussels Housing Code already flagged on 4 July, now explicitly named by the minister. Such a commissioner should, in her words, "bring management back into line with the principles of legality, transparency and good governance." The final decision and the definition of the mandate rest with the Brussels government; her office states the request was expected to be on the agenda of the SLRB's board of directors on Monday 13 July.

Sources: BRUZZ — hearings close after 143 hours (7 July 2026) ; BRUZZ — government commissioner under consideration (7 July 2026) ; La Libre — Khattabi denounces ongoing sabotage (8 July 2026). Confidence: official (hearings closure, vote schedule, direct ministerial quote); political statements by Van Achter and Khattabi as reported.

Issues to monitor

• Social: housing is the largest expenditure item for low-income Brussels households; the 1,000+ announced units will only cover a fraction of the 62,000 households on the waiting list
• Energy: a large proportion of the housing stock is energy-inefficient; zero-interest loans (200M EUR, replacing Renolution) could accelerate renovation
• Urban planning: several new housing projects are ready on paper and can now be launched
• Budgetary: the fiscal consolidation effort to return to balance by 2029 will determine the effective pace of investment