More than 100 people gathered on Saturday afternoon to march from the Central Station to the Place d'Armes. Our colleagues from RTL were present at the demonstrations and talked to a number of protestors:
"Many of my friends are returning from university and have no idea what to do. Is it better to start renting, or return home to their parents?"
"People are no longer able to afford rent with the salaries they make. The market no longer reflects reality."
"Apartments are there, and yet, nobody can afford to live in them any more."
"The situation has become unbearable, society is now split between those who can and those who cannot afford the prices."
Protesters thus drew attention to the fact that the middle class is struggling immensely under the pressure of the country's housing market.
Landlords are free to charge as much as they like since they always end up finding someone willing to pay.
Nevertheless, some apartments do stay empty in the end, while other investors use building land for speculative investments.
Jean-Michel Campanella, president of the tenants' association, commented on the issue: "The number of people having to fall back on hotels or moving beyond the Grand Duchy's borders is increasing. We need solutions right now, but unfortunately it seems as thought the government has not yet realised the gravity of the situation."
Fréderic Krier from the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) also provided his take on the situation: "Only yesterday we received the most recent numbers which show that housing prices increased by 16.09% last trimester. That is the highest rate in Europe, but we still lack action from our political leaders to combat this tendency."
The "Wunnrecht" coalition therefore advocates for the construction of 30,000 affordable housing units for those on low incomes, and an emergency construction of up to 4,000 social housing units, potentially including container flats. They further want to introduce a rent limit and a real estate tax reform.
