The government has launched a package to boost housing construction and increase financial aid for families, including a hike in subsidies for single parents and broadened eligibility for financial assistance to purchase or build homes.
The government announced an initial package of measures to boost housing construction at the end of January, which was approved by parliament on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Housing Minister Claude Meisch faced the press to illustrate the measures with a few examples.
So far, single parents with one child received a monthly subsidy of €154, which will no go up to €465 as of 1 June. To ensure that more people are eligible for this type of aid, the threshold has also been adjusted upwards.
A household with two children and a net annual salary of up to €116,000 will be eligible for the financial aid to purchase or construct a dwelling. For a household with three children, the threshold is set at €136,000.
The head of the Housing Aid Service, Romain Alff, said the department is ready for the changes to come into effect. Among other things, more people are to be employed to help people determine if they are eligible for support.
However, individual help is only available after the notarisation process. In response to people needing money right away when asking for it, Alff said that the ministry and its services work closely with people and banks. This should ensure that the amount of aid can already be factored into the client's financial plan, according to Alff.
The Minister of Housing also said that he does not expect sellers to factor aids into their prices since not everyone is eligible for support. When asked whether aid should be staggered because people are penalised if they earn too much, Meisch said that this should be reconsidered in the long run. However, the government wanted to act quickly now and therefore included measures that had already been in place, he explained.
The Minister also pointed out that further administrative simplifications will be announced in the coming weeks to increase both building pace and rate. Another goal is for the state to increase its offer of affordable public rental housing. In the meantime, the state continues buying more housing projects on the private market.
