At least 3,000 evictions in Brussels last year

Brussels' public social welfare centres (CPASs) helped more than 3,000 tenants facing eviction from housing in 2024, new figures have revealed.

An initial large-scale monitoring exercise shows 3,007 eviction cases over the course of a year, according to the study by perspective.brussels, the region’s centre of expertise for regional and territorial development.

“That’s no small number,” said Yves Van de Casteele, who co-led the study.

An eviction means that a tenant must leave their home following legal proceedings. This often happens because the rent can no longer be paid or because of a dispute with the landlord.

“The figures here only relate to cases known to the CPASs,” emphasised Van de Casteele.

“Illegal evictions, where tenants are forced to leave without a court order, are not included in the count.”

The study maps out for the first time how often CPASs are involved in evictions, in a city whose housing crisis has been a heavy burden for years. Until now, research has mainly been based on cases brought before the justice of the peace.

This monitoring examines the role of the CPASs, which are often the first to be confronted with the social consequences of an impending eviction.

Brussels has long been grappling with high rents, long waiting lists for social housing and families finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.

Eviction figures are particularly high in the north-west of Brussels, notably Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Ganshoren and Jette. This indicates that a low income is not the only key factor for predicting evictions.

“Jette is, on average, more affluent than some other Brussels municipalities, yet it still has a relatively high number of cases compared to poorer municipalities,” said Van de Casteele.

“Poverty certainly plays a role, but it isn’t the only explanation.”

The proportion of single-parent families is also striking. As women are over-represented within this group, the researchers view them as a potentially particularly vulnerable group when it comes to evictions.

“It would be interesting to conduct further research within this context into the link between gender and evictions,” said Van de Casteele.

According to the study, local social welfare offices can make a significant difference as mediators. When a CPAS is able to establish contact with the affected tenant, 55% of cases result in the tenancy being continued or the tenant being rehoused.

That sort of help is crucial when almost one in every 100 households in Brussels faces eviction, according to the same study.

Of the 2,870 eviction cases for which information is available, 2,137 concern people already known to their CPAS (74.5%). Of these, 870 people (30% of cases) already had an active file, meaning the person was receiving assistance from the CPAS for some other issue.

When adding up all the cases for which a solution to remain in the property or be rehoused was found, 925 situations were recorded out of 2,870 cases, or just over 32%.