Bron
Documentatiecentrum Vlaamse Rand, Rand-abc-fiche, 2011
Organisatie
Documentatiecentrum Vlaamse Rand
Jaar
2011
Taal
ENG
Introduction
It is expensive to live in the Vlaamse Rand (Flemish Periphery): house prices are an average 35% higher than elsewhere in Flanders and building land costs 47% more [1]. De Rand is becoming too expensive for its original citizens who consequently have to move. Immigrants from Brussels take their place. Although this process of displacement has existed for many decades, it has seen an increase in the last few years. The problem entails social displacement as well as cultural shifts: the emigrating citizens are mainly Dutch speaking, the immigrants speak French or other languages. Although various authorities have taken measures in response to the displacement process, these only affect a limited part of the housing market. Immigrants, including speakers of foreign languages, can still buy or rent a house in the Vlaamse Rand.
Municipal allocation regulations
Local authorities often sell their own building land under certain conditions: they prioritise people who have a link with the municipality. Allocation regulations similar to this one are not uncommon in other places in the world, by the way: they also exist in Brussels and Wallonia. And in the Gillow judgment (on the Channel Island of Guernsey) the European Court for Human Rights ruled that in allocating residence licenses, granting certain privileges to persons with a strong link to the island or who fulfil an essential function for the island is legitimate.
Municipal authorities sometimes expect buyers to commit to learning to speak the Dutch language, for the sake of social cohesion of the new allotments [2]. That expectation is legitimate as well: see the European Groener judgment on knowledge of the Irish language.
VLABINVEST
Furthermore, in 1992 the Flemish Government established VLABINVEST, the Investment Fund for Land and Housing Policy for Flemish Brabant. Mainly in cooperation with a social housing company, VLABINVEST builds rental and sales properties in the wide Vlaamse Rand [3]. Buyers or tenants with low or medium incomes who have a link with Vlabinvest's field of activity, will be given priority. An advisory committee assesses whether they are socially, economically and/or socio-culturally linked to the VLABINVEST area.
Living in your Own Region
In 2009, the Flemish Parliament adopted the Act on land and buildings, which contained a book on Living in your own region [4]. In municipalities with high land prices and high migration [5], people who want to buy a house [6] or building land in a residential expansion area [7] must have a link with the municipality [8]. They must demonstrate before a provincial committee that they live or work in the region, or that they have some other societal, family, social or economic tie with it. That condition also applies when owners sell their property within 20 years.
Equally, municipalities can apply the condition to at most 10% of their buildable surface via a special regulation.
And in the Halle-Vilvoorde district, the condition also applies outside the residential expansion area, in zones where the number of maximum storeys is increased. The regional Halle-Vilvoorde-Asse plan strictly limits the number of building layers to two. 40 years ago, the intention was to stop the Brussels’ expansion. Recent town and country plans (e.g. the plan for demarcation of the Flemish Strategic Area around Brussels) aim at a slight relaxation of this restriction in certain areas. The Flemish Government would, in those cases, apply a transfer condition.
The new measure only applies to a small fraction of the total housing offer. Flanders has a residential area of more than 230,000 hectares and only 16,000 hectares of residential expansion area. And in the residential area, buyers can still buy what they want. Furthermore, the provincial committees do not test language skills since the Act does not mention anything about a language requirement. The measure still found wide applause, probably for the following two reasons. First of all, this is the first measure that affects the free market. Secondly, the Flemish Parliament Act contained an inaccuracy. To remedy this,the Flemish Parliament Act was amended in 2010.
Footnotes
[1] SVR study
[2] Vilvoorde submitted a few candidate buyers to a language test, but was reprimanded by the Flemish Government. Municipalities are allowed to require a performance commitment, not a result commitment. They may demand that candidates take a course, not that they successfully pass an exam.
[3] the Halle-Vilvoorde district & Bertem, Huldenberg, Kortenberg & Tervuren
[4] This book is based on a proposal of Flemish Parliament Act by Mark Demesmaeker, Flemish Member of Parliament; however, this proposal has never been submitted.
[5] 68 municipalities, mainly from the Vlaamse Rand, the coast and the border area with the Netherlands, that belong to
-the 40% Flemish municipalities with the highest average building ground price per square metre and
-the 25% Flemish municipalities with the highest internal migration intensity or the 10% Flemish municipalities with the highest external migration intensity. Every three years, the Flemish Governement compiles a list of the municipalities involved. The most recent list (2012) comprises 27 municipalities of Flemish Brabant: Asse, Bertem, Beersel, Bierbeek, Boortmeerbeek, Dilbeek, Drogenbos, Grimbergen, Herent,Hoeilaart, Kortenberg, Kraainem, Leuven, Liedekerke, Linkebeek, Machelen, Meise, Oud-Heverlee, Overijse, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Steenokkerzeel, Tervuren, Vilvoorde, Wemmel, Wezembeek-Oppem and Zaventem. Please note: Merchtem is not in this list.
[6] house built after 21. Sept. 2009
[7] The concept of residential expansion areas originates from Belgian town and country planning. They are not residential zones, but zones that can be used for building if so required according to the needs of the local population. Prior to using them for that purpose, however, the municipality involved must produce a residential needs study which demonstrates the need for additional housing in the municipality.
[8] which is also the list mentioned above.
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Vlaamse Rand
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