1. SOCIAL RENTAL AGENCIES AS A TOOL TO OVERCOME PROBLEMS WITH PRIVATE RENTING IN FLANDERS, BELGIUM
Pascal De Decker
Faculty of Architecture, Catholic University of Leuven
Conference “Emerging Private Rental Sector in Accession and Transition Countries: Is there an Option for Social Rental Agencies?”, Budapest, Hungary, September.

2. Content The Be housing market (structure, data) SRAs What Roots
State of th art
Social support
Pitfalls

3. Housing in BE: Major features
home-ownership market following a longstanding policy to promote homeownership
marginal (and more and more residual ) social rental market
(discours vs. reality)
(huge waiting lists)
fairly unregulated private rental market
TINA: only ‘stable housing sector’=home-ownership
private renting is a dual/polarised market: upmarket + no choice market (spatially segregated)

4. Some data Structure of the Flemish housing market
share
numbers
1981
1991
2001
2005
Owner occupiers
65.6
68.9
72.6 74
1,861,250
Tenants
32.6
29.5
25.8
24.1
602,905
private
20.5
18.5
462,810
social
5.3
5.6
140,094
Free housing
1.8
1.6
40,026

5. private tenants 27,4% 39,2% Some data Affordability Budget method
Rest income < poverty line
Ratio method
Housing quota >30%
All households
13,2%
12,%
O.O. with a mortgage
9,4%
15,6%
All tenants
30%
33%
private tenants
27,4%
39,2%
social tenants
38,6%
12,2%

6. What is a SRA? SRA’s are non-profit or local authority organisations
dealing with housing problems of poor & vulnerable people
rooted in services dealing with the homeless persons
more ad more: organised by local social services and recently (Ghent) by a local government
Rent from private landlords and sublet to tenants
securing the payment of the rent (event in periods of vacancy)
securing housing quality
offer an affordable rent to the subtenant
organising support if necessary
‘try to socialize’ the private rented sector – withdraw renting from free market mechanisms

7. Overview of the partnership between an SRA and Landlord
Requests: Prompt payment of the rent Maintenance of the house Rational occupation Judicial support Administrative support
Accepts: Below market/”social”rent Quality standards Rental contract for a period of 9 years No say in the profile of the subtenant
SRA
Offers: Guaranteed monthly payment of the rent Rental mediation Handyman’s service Legal occupation standard Professional counseling
Requests: Affordable rent Quality dwellings Housing security To be open to all candidate-tenants
Source: Adapted from OCMW Gent Presentation, 2012 HABITACT Peer Review

8. Overview of the relationship an SRA and its tenants
SRA Tenant
Requests: Appropriate accommodation Affordable rent Security of tenure Support
Agrees to provide: Participation in rental  counselling Maintenance of the house/good behavior Prompt payment Open communication 
SRA
Offers: High-quality housing ‘’Social’’/affordable rent Rental subsidy 9-year rental agreement Rental counselling
Agrees to provide: Professional counselor  For support: link to welfare services Follow-up of the rent Mediation in case of arrears General assistance with enquiries etc
Source: Adapted from OCMW Gent Presentation, 2012 HABITACT Peer Review

9. Goals Enlarge the number of available dwellings for vulnerable people
Improve the quality of the accommodation at the bottom end of the housing market
Use a socially correct rent

10. Regulation Belgium=federal state, with ‘split responsibilties’
Changes underway (all housing responsibilities will be transfered TO THE REGIONS)
Private renting=federal matter
rents of new contracts are free
length of the lease is regulated (limited number of short terms; legal lease=9 y)
some subsidies when letting to an SRA (tax exempations for enery saving invesments)
SRA=matter of the regions (Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia)
subsidies for staff & working
rent allowance (under certain conditions: income ceiling; limited in time)
renovation subsidies

11. History – context - roots
Housing activism ( s)
General: legal advise shops  tenant’s association (London model)
Labour migrant discrimination  SRA avant la lettre Woonfonds Gent, Antwerp & Brussels at the end of the 1970s
Housing ‘crisis’ (end 1970, early 1980s)
Economic crisis  drop new house construction (private & social)  squeezed market
 policy reaction = more market = freeing of private renting in times of crisis
New housing times (demographics)  more houses needed
Filtering up  filtering down: renting becomes more & more unaffordable (queeing for advertisers)
De-institutionalisation (1960s)
Welfare Work: experience increasing housing problems of its clients
De-institutionalisation (elimination of the ‘total institutions’/ideology of the small scale)  need ‘housing’ for the services itself

12. Homeless service sector in general
Growth of services after 1975
Due to the de-institutionalisation ideology
Professionalisation
passing through philosophy – client has to become independent as soon as possible (now: theory vs reality: lots of failures)
small scale ideology  need for ordinary houses
idea of emancipation

13. Welfare work ‘invades’ the housing market SRA’s Tenant’s associations
Consequence
Welfare work ‘invades’ the housing market
SRA’s
Tenant’s associations

14. Devepment of the SRA model
1985: the umbrella organisations of homeless organisations (VDVO) presents the SRA model
1993: foundation of the umbrella organisation of ‘new housing initiatives’ (VOB)
1993: 9 SRAs & VOB get subsidies as ‘experiments’  VOB has to develop a ‘workable’ model
1997: integration of ‘rent services’ in the Flemish housing law = SRAs become a housing institution
Since then: different regulations aiming at making SRA’s stronger/bigger
2007: assessment through the eyes of the landlords

15. 2003 2006 2009 subsidized 24 32 44 Not subsidized 10 14 7 total 34 46
State of affairs (Flanders)
Number of recognised SRAs
2003
2006
2009
subsidized 24 32 44
Not subsidized 10 14 7
total 34 46
51*
*decreases/will decrease/mergers

16. State of affairs Number of dwellings
Average number of dwellings per SRA rose from 54.8 in 1999, over 77 in 2006 to 96.3 in 2009 – largest: +500 dwellings

17. State of affairs Work/income situation new tenants, 2009, %
unemployed
subsistence income
part-time job
disability/illness
in work
pension
other
no info

18. State of affairs 33% were homeless at the moment of allocation
Homeless= living in a caravan, uninhabitable dwelling, living on the street, living in a service for homeless persons

19. Allocation
Flemish regulation for all social rental dwellings, but differentiated, so SRAs can and do use a point system in order to fit with housing need (e.g. living on the street=higher score than someone living in an institution)
local authorities can develop a local allocation system that refines the Flemish one, but they hardly do (certainly not in favor of vulnerable; avoid the risk; and if: prefer elderly)
there was the possibility to work besides this regulation in order to house very difficult ‘to house’ persons in a co-operation with welfare work

20. Social basis ‘seems’ solid
political support in policy notes of political parties & policy notes of ministers and aldermen
support from the representatives of landlords
high satisfaction on landlords working with SRAs
But: difficult to enter the ‘crowded’ housing field that is confronted with huge waiting lists

21. Pitfalls
Context of scarcity  caseload is huge  pressure on the staff (proportionally the waing list are much longer than for social renting)
Debates
SRA-non-profit-private-style vs. SRA embedded in local social service
SRA as housing providers vs. SRA as welfare institution
if acting as w.i.  risk of arrears
keep up housing quality is risk
Scale: too small? (managing staff; dealing with subsidies)

22. Further reading
De Decker, P. (2002): On the rise of social rental agencies in Belgium, in: Urban Studies, vol. 39, nr. 2, p
De Decker, P. (2009): Social rental agencies : still a splendid idea?, in: European Journal of Homelessness, vol 3, December, p
Feantsa Office (2012): Social rental agencies: an innovative housing-led response to homelessness, Feantsa, Brussels.