Belgium tracks down real estate abroad: more than one in two checks in Morocco is positive

In total, 928 checks were funded by the Flemish authorities between June 2021 and the end of 2023. Of these, 476 established the existence of property abroad, representing a positive rate of 51.3%.

These figures appear in an official response from Flemish Housing Minister Melissa Depraetere, sent on February 3, 2025, to the Flemish Parliament. The previous assessment, in which Bladi.net had revealed the extent of the checks targeting, in particular, Moroccans in Belgium, reported 322 positive results out of 679 investigations.

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The scheme does not automatically apply to all tenants. An investigation may be initiated when a landlord suspects that an occupant owns property abroad, which is incompatible with the conditions for access to social housing in Flanders. These rules have since been tightened, and other Moroccans in Belgium could be excluded from social housing.

Morocco accounts for 368 checks

Morocco is the country most targeted by these checks. The official annexes list 368 investigations concerning possible real estate assets in the kingdom, compared with 295 in the previous assessment. They are followed mainly by Turkey, Italy and, to a lesser extent, Spain.

The authorities do not, however, specify how many of the 368 checks carried out in Morocco actually revealed a property. The figure of 476 positive results concerns all countries and therefore cannot be attributed solely to tenants checked in Morocco.

The province of Limburg accounts for the majority of the cases, with 533 investigations and 307 positive results. It is well ahead of East Flanders, where 90 properties were detected in 215 checks, and West Flanders, with 38 positive results out of 76 cases.

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No fine is imposed directly on the basis of these investigations. Landlords may, however, recover social rent reductions that were improperly obtained and terminate the rental agreement. Moroccans had already been evicted from their social housing in Belgium after properties in Morocco were discovered.

Flanders spent nearly 1.39 million euros to fund these investigations between 2021 and 2023. A new agreement with the companies responsible for the checks came into force in March 2024, but no official assessment covering this new period has yet been issued.