Contrary to the coalition agreement and the stance of her own party, Lydie Polfer opposes the creation of certain registers, in defiance of her own party and her DP colleage Housing Minister Claude Meisch.

The mayor of Luxembourg City, Lydie Polfer, has spoken against the idea of creating a national register of buildings and dwellings (RNBL) or the first national register of affordable housing (RENLA) in the capital as announced by the Lëtzebuerger Land on Friday.

The liberal MP and mayor is thereby not only opposing the government's coalition agreement but also the policy of her own party, which holds the Ministry of Housing.

The RNBL is the national database that will be used to identify empty properties in Luxembourg. These properties will soon be subject to taxation.

According to reporting by Lëtzebuerger Land, Lydie Polfer said the country does not need a national register of vacant homes, but rather a clear definition of what constitutes an empty dwelling.

She argues this would allow the city to introduce its own tax on such properties. Polfer describes the proposed national scheme as a “Sisyphean task”, one that would require hiring large numbers of civil servants without generating additional housing – which she stresses is the real need.

It is yet to be seen if the mayor and vice-president of the municipal union Syvicol takes her opposition as far as voting against the bill in the Chamber of Deputies; however, Lydie Polfer acknowledged that if the law is passed, the capital will have little choice but to apply the rule as it would apply everywhere else in Luxembourg.