Antwerp Evicts 13 Social Housing Tenants for Fraud, Including Overseas Property Owner

No one can indeed claim social housing if they own real estate, even abroad. Many social tenants have trampled on this clause of the law. In this sense, the city of Antwerp has opened 40 files on social tenants, suspected of fraud, reports the private Flemish channel, VTM.

The examination of the files made it possible to detect 13 cases of fraudsters, one concerning a man who owns 14 houses and building plots in Morocco, five others relating to tenants residing abroad. The latter have sublet.

Faced with the situation, the city of Antwerp has decided to evict them from their social housing. They will also be required to reimburse the money they may have saved over all these years.

It will be for them to reimburse the social reduction they benefited from: the difference between the market rental price and the amount of social rent they paid... For the first case processed, the social tenant will have to reimburse 48,000 euros.

According to the Antwerp alderman for social affairs, Fons Duchateau (N-VA), the operation aims to reduce fraud and, at the same time, free up houses for those who really need them.

For now, 27 other files are under review.