Housing: Housing Fund resumes 1 July, rents +3.7%, SLRB €197M in debt

Housing Fund: mortgage credits resume on 1 July 2026

Mortgage loans of the Brussels-Capital Region Housing Fund — suspended since summer 2025 for lack of financing (banks refused to lend to the body in the absence of a regional government and a voted budget) — are to resume on 1 July 2026.

Announcement by State Secretary for Housing Karine Lalieux (PS) in a Brussels Parliament committee, 23 April 2026. Resumption depends on the regional guarantee being granted on the financial markets ("a formality", Lalieux cabinet). Ecoréno loans already resumed on 1 January 2026, with an interest-rate increase. During the suspension, 25 Fund staff had been placed on temporary unemployment.

Source: La DH Bruxelles (23 April 2026).

Rental market 2025: +3.7% YoY, every municipality above €1,000

According to the 2025 Rental Barometer (Federia, February 2026) and the IBSA complementary analysis:

• Average rent all types: €1,376/month (+3.7% YoY)
• Average apartment rent: >€1,300/month (+5%)
• All 19 Brussels municipalities now cross the €1,000/month threshold
• −10% new lease contracts signed via agencies in 2024

Inter-regional comparison (IBSA Fact Sheet No. 216, April 2026)

First academic comparison of rents by Urban Residential Cluster (URC):

• Brussels URC: +12% more expensive than Flemish URCs (Antwerp, Ghent)
• Brussels URC: +27% more expensive than Walloon URCs (Liège, Charleroi)

Sources: Federia — Rental Barometer 2025; IBSA — Brussels Studies Fact Sheet No. 216; La Libre.

SLRB: €197M in debt, two sites sold

The SLRB has accumulated €197M of debt to the Brussels Region. A repayment schedule was agreed in December 2025. Consequences:

• Sale of the Ariane site (Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, former Fedasil centre) — estimated ~€30M
• Sale of the Palais site (Schaerbeek) — estimated ~€22-23M
• Both sites were intended for conversion to social housing

In total, the SLRB must dispose of €73M in assets in 2026, including converting social rental housing to social acquisition housing.

Sources: BruxellesToday, "Brussels sacrifices social-housing projects to repay the SLRB debt"; BX1; DH, "the SLRB must pay" (January 2026).

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

Urban.brussels delivered the permit for the Lake Side project (Nextensa) at Tour & Taxis: 670 apartments + 100 co-living, 166 social/conventional housing units, 7,310 sqm of public amenities, 127 m tower. €555M investment over 8 years (completion expected 2032). Proximus will install its main HQ on the site from 2028.

Source: BX1 / La Libre / L'Avenir / DH / Nextensa (2 April 2026).

Coalition agreement: announced commitments

• SLRB: €400M injection over the legislature
• 1,000+ public housing units announced
• Be Home doubled: 160 → €320/month
• Renolution replaced by zero-interest loans (€200M envelope through 2029)
• Neo (Heysel) restarted
• Brownfields arbitrated: Wiels/Avijl/Donderberg preserved, 18-month moratorium on Keyenbempt/Calevoet/Josaphat/Meylemeersch, Chant des Cailles + Dames Blanches confirmed
• Begging-with-children regulation (Brussels-City, 20 April 2026) — impact on public-space use in the Pentagon

Foyer Anderlechtois audit (April 2026)

An SLRB audit (1 April 2026) revealed multiple drifts at the Foyer Anderlechtois: chairman too operationally involved, no follow-up on rent arrears, opaque purchasing processes. The SLRB also deemed the housing-allocation derogation committee, created without statutory basis, illegal.

Source: BX1 / DH / L'Avenir (1 April 2026).