Fewer Flemings owning their own homes

The study cites various reasons for the fall in the percentage of home-owners.

First of all the percentage of home-owners had raised constantly in the years since the Second World War as increased prosperity enabled an ever-wider cross section of society to become home-owners.

This rise has now come to a halt and economic uncertainly has meant that people are more reluctant to apply for a mortgage.

Furthermore, a sharp rise in property prices and strict criteria by banks for those wanting to apply for a mortgage mean that home-ownership is beyond the reach of a growing number of Flemings.

Those on modest incomes especially are now being forced to seek a house or flat on the private rental market.
 

Over the past 10 years, the percentage of Flemish households that are having difficulty finding affordable housing has risen from 13% to 20%.

This group spends 30% or more of its total net income on rent or mortgage repayments. This problem is especially prevalent in the private rental sector where around the half of tenants spend more than 30% of their income on rent.

The study also found that a third of properties were “substandard”. However, two-thirds of these properties could be put right if relatively small-scale renovation work were carried out such as repairs to plugs or light switches.

The remaining one-third of substandard properties (350,000 in total) requires structural repairs.