Moroccan Family in Antwerp Faces Eviction After Year-Long Housing Search

"If I haven’t found anything by November 21, a bailiff will put us on the street," said Mohammed, who has been looking for new housing for more than a year. The Moroccan, his wife and their three children have been living in this CPAS (Public Social Welfare Center) housing on Essen Street in Antwerp since 2014. Initially for one year and then extended for nine years, the rental contract expired last summer. The CPAS notified the Moroccan family of the end of the contract and asked them to vacate the premises. Unable to find new housing, Mohammed and his family continue to occupy this housing, reports Nieuwsblad.be.

"My wife works in childcare and I am looking for a job. She earns around 3,100 euros gross and I receive an allowance of around 700 euros. Finding new housing should therefore not be a problem," explains Mohammed. Yet it has been more than a year since the Moroccan has been trying to find suitable housing. "I don’t understand. We have visited dozens of homes, but each time we are told that the owner has already found another tenant or that the home is no longer available," he recounts.

Desperate after all these unsuccessful attempts, Mohammed even called on the King of Belgium for help. "At my wit’s end, I wrote a letter to King Philippe. He replied that he had forwarded my grievances to the Antwerp CPAS, but I have still heard nothing from them." Powerless, Mohammed dreads the eviction on November 21 and fears that his children, still minors (17, 15 and 13 years old), will be placed. "I am very worried about my children. They are doing very well in school... If we end up on the street, it will undoubtedly have consequences on their studies."