The CPAS demands €22,074 from this Moroccan man; justice cuts the bill to €984

Born in 1976, the Moroccan man arrived in Belgium in 2008 as part of a family reunification process. After his divorce, he moved into an apartment in Anderlecht on his own. From 1 August 2016, the municipality’s CPAS paid him integration income at the rate for a single person. His rent was then €650 per month, plus €51 in energy costs.

For two years, his situation apparently caused no problems. A visit carried out at his home by CPAS services on 19 July 2017 was even positive, and his entitlement to assistance was extended.

Everything changed in 2018. The administration suspected that the Moroccan man did not actually live in Anderlecht, but with his partner in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe. The couple has two children, and several factors attracted investigators’ attention: a water bill for his partner’s home had been paid by him, and her Proximus subscription was also in his name.

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A police investigation was then launched. When officers checked the Anderlecht apartment in September 2018, another person was living there. For the CPAS, there was no longer any doubt: the Moroccan man had in fact never lived at the declared address.

On 10 January 2019, the Anderlecht CPAS retroactively withdrew his entitlement and demanded repayment of the benefits paid between August 2016 and September 2018: exactly €22,074.08. In October 2019, the labour court initially sided with the CPAS and also ordered the man to pay interest. This is what the ruling of the Brussels Labour Court sets out.

Utility bills that completely change the case

The Moroccan man appealed and submitted a series of documents. He had a registered lease for his apartment in Anderlecht and could prove that he had paid his €650 rent. His landlord also confirmed that he had indeed rented the property between July 2016 and July 2018.

The property’s consumption became an especially important element. The bills showed average electricity consumption of 1,160 kWh per year, very close to the approximately 1,200 kWh considered the average consumption for a one-person household. Water statements were also submitted. In addition, there was the positive CPAS visit in 2017 and a statement from the concierge affirming that she had regularly seen the Moroccan man in the building.

The Labour Court was particularly critical of the case built against him. It held that the CPAS decision had not been preceded by “any serious social investigation” and was based on an incomplete police report, itself triggered on the basis of evidence deemed approximate.

Above all, the check carried out in September 2018 did not make it possible to determine where the Moroccan man had lived during the previous two years. The fact that he had had two children with his partner or paid some of her bills was not sufficient either to prove that he lived with her.

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The Court ultimately found that he had indeed lived alone in Anderlecht from 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2018. The integration income paid during that period was therefore due and could not be recovered by the CPAS.

However, the Moroccan man had acknowledged moving in with his partner during August 2018. The court therefore upheld only the repayment of the amounts received between 1 August and 3 September 2018.

Result: of the €22,074.08 initially claimed, only €983.75 remains to be repaid. The CPAS may not claim interest either and must cover the Moroccan man’s appeal costs, including €378.95 in procedural compensation.