The housing crisis has by now started affecting large parts of Luxembourg's population, but the situation is urgent for low-income people in particular.

One such group are people who were granted international protection, more commonly known as asylum, here in Luxembourg. Through the status, law awards them the exact same rights as residents, which in return allows them to move out of temporary emergency housing. However, in many cases, the options to do so are very limited. The social housing market is overloaded, while the private one remains financially impossible for most.

Read also: How is international protection of refugees regulated in Luxembourg?

According to the National Bureau for Admission (ONA), close to half of the people living in public housing have already been granted international protection. Once a person benefits from international protection, ONA is no longer responsible for them. At that point, the Luxembourg Centre for Integration and Social Cohesion (LISKO) can take over. The centre was founded in 2016 to handle the social aspects of the integration process and is managed by the Red Cross.

The biggest challenge remains housing, elaborated LISKO's Marc Josse in conversation with RTL. Social workers help compile files and give advice on how to approach landlords. In some cases, LISKO can even act as a guarantor. Should that be of no help, then all seems lost due to the limited offer of social housing.

Municipalities should also be able to aid in the relocation process, however, they face the exact same shortage of social housing. The Social Office of Luxembourg City, for instance, has 600 registered applicants, conveyed alderman Maurice Bauer, who is in charge of housing. Even though the City has about 750 apartments at its disposal, certain criteria mean that it does not respond to the demand.

Bauer underlined that everyone involved in the relocation process helps avoid a situation where someone has to be evicted from public housing without a suitable follow-up destination.

A vicious circle

Our colleagues from RTL also spoke to family Mousa, who went through these processes after fleeing Syria to find shelter in the Grand Duchy. The parents and their four children have been living in one of ONA's locations in the capital for the past six years. Even though they have wanted to move out and on for a long time, the family has not been able to do so.

15-year-old Hassan suffers from a severe disability and needs a wheelchair, which makes the search for a new home even more difficult. His mother takes care of him at home, but he still needs regular hospital treatment. Adapted social housing opportunities remain rare.

Father Ali works as a tailor in Esch-sur-Alzette. He expressed gratitude to all the people who have already helped him find a solution. Since his employment contract is revalidated on a yearly basis, the private housing market has however been a dead end.

The Mousas thus sought assistance from the association 'A Future for Luxembourg', who were also unable to help them in concrete manner. Lamia Nadi, the organisation's translator, knows the problem too well. She explained that it boils down to a vicious circle of structural problems. As long as there are no options for people to move out of public housing, there is also no room for new refugees to move in, she concluded.