Molenbeek Family Faces Eviction Crisis Amid Affordable Housing Shortage

Abdel risks eviction at the end of his six-month notice period, which ends on March 31, but he cannot find affordable housing in his neighborhood. "I won’t leave the apartment. Unless the police force me to," warns the 53-year-old man who is looking for housing for himself, his wife and their three children (two daughters aged 5 and 3, and a son aged 1 and a half). Currently, the family lives in a one-bedroom apartment, "divided by curtains," for a rent of 600 euros, reports L’Avenir.

The owner of the premises "wants it for his daughter," a news that plunges Abdel’s family into uncertainty. The man’s salary as a handyman in a school is around 1,700 euros net and his Moroccan-born wife does not work. In addition, the family receives 800 euros in benefits. "But a 2-bedroom apartment is 1,000 euros, and 3-bedroom apartments are between 1,200 and 1,500 euros," says Abdel, whose income does not allow him to cope with this rental burden and to allow himself some pleasures with his children. Like 150 other families in Brussels, Abdel will demonstrate this Sunday during the fourth edition of the Housing Action Day, the major mobilization day dedicated to housing in Europe.

Abdel’s case is "really emblematic" of the Brussels housing crisis, explains Joaquim Da Fonseca, the social worker specialized in housing, who follows 7 to 8 families in search of housing, including Abdel’s. "Most have work income, 53% exactly, according to the statistics of the Maison Bonnevie, which breaks the clichés about the unemployed in Molenbeek," he details. "But when there’s no housing... The private rental market is inaccessible. With Mr. Fattouche’s income, it’s very complicated in the big Belgian cities," adds the social worker, specifying that 8% of the people followed give up and 6% are evicted and find themselves homeless.

The specialist also notes "a huge drop in the standard of living" in the case of those who manage to find an apartment, with "rents that go from simple to double." Abdel has been on the waiting list for social housing "for 13 years." But "50,000 families are waiting in Brussels," informs Joaquim Da Fonseca. "They offered me shelters, but just for the children and my wife. With the baby, she couldn’t live there without speaking French. They need me. I don’t want us to be separated," Abdel complains. On Sunday, the people concerned will demonstrate to demand lower rents, an end to evictions, housing for the homeless, "decent, healthy, affordable and adapted housing for families and individuals," etc.