Minister Diependaele received a series of questions in the Flemish hemisphere about rising rents. Figures from CIB, the Confederation of Real Estate Professions, showed that the average rent for an apartment in Flanders exceeded 800 euros in the first half of the year. The average rental price for a terraced house has risen above 900 euros for the first time.
Minister Diependaele qualified the price increase. This only concerns new contracts and not current contracts. Moreover, the price increase is lower than the increased inflation. “Wages and benefits have risen more than rents,” said Diependaele.
What is the Flemish Home Loan?
The Flemish Residential Loan is an advantageous credit for those who have a modest income and still want to buy a home in Flanders. Diependaele refers to the rising mortgage interest rates at the banks. “We notice that these higher interest rates make the instrument of the Flemish Home Loan even more interesting. People with limited equity/income can borrow 100 percent at an interesting interest rate,” it says.
According to the N-VA minister, the government is also making a lot of efforts to prevent rent prices from going through the roof, from budget rents (or conventional rents) to the system of rental subsidies and rental premiums.
In addition, the government also wants to continue to respond to the owner’s market, which is also under pressure. It has therefore been decided to increase the planned budget for the Flemish Housing Loan for 2024 by 250 million euros to 1.4 billion euros.