Two weeks ago, Minister for Housing Henri Kox announced in the Chamber of Deputies that as of 1 August, 42,000 people will be eligible to request the public aid. Thus far, only one in five households with a right for the support had actually requested it, and the Minister hopes that people realise that the aid even exists.
Ginette Jones from the Social Offices has since pleaded for personalised letters to be sent to each household eligible for the aid. Similarly, Jean-Michel Campanella from non-profit organisation ‘Mieterschutz’ (‘Tenant Protection’) hopes that new tenants will be informed of the subsidy when they register at their local municipality.
Rents must make up at least 25% of household incomes in order for people to become eligible for the subsidy. Furthermore, household incomes may not exceed a certain threshold, which is set to be raised on Monday. This in return will mean that more people can benefit from the support.
For instance, before the new dispositions, a single person had to earn a gross salary of less than €2,649 per month. Now, a person is eligible if they make as much as €3,126.
Campanella expressed satisfaction over the raising of the threshold, but thinks that it still excludes too many people, such as those living in public housing. He further advocated for a simplification of paperwork. Jones has meanwhile stated that the deadline remains “problematic”.
Campanella believes that elevated rents in general represent the true problem of the situation. Jones thinks that the subsidy is a small yet necessary step to help people who make a net salary of €1,900 while spending about €1,200 for rents and extra expenses.
On the website Logement.public.lu, you can find all the necessary paperwork to request the rent subsidy in the “Locataire” (“tenant”) section. However, it should be noted that the form has yet to be adapted to the new regulations scheduled to come into effect on 1 August.
