This Friday, the Brussels Parliament voted on the final report of the parliamentary inquiry committee on the Foyer anderlechtois. This is a victory. A victory for the MR, which has carried this fight from day one. A victory, above all, for the 60,000 families waiting for housing.
In barely 1 month, the committee held 153 hours of hearings, compared with 89 hours over 8 months for the special Metro 3 committee, and heard 49 witnesses. Colossal, methodical work, carried out rigorously despite repeated sabotage attempts by an opposition that preferred to leave the room rather than take responsibility.
The result is here: 26 solid recommendations, voted today, which will profoundly transform social housing in Brussels. No more homes allocated through a political phone call. No more culture of clientelism.
Loubna Azghoud, MR group leader in the Brussels Parliament: “Our mission is to durably change the social housing system in Brussels so that this type of abuse never happens again. We did it!”
Clémentine Barzin points out that social housing in Brussels is finally entering the 21st century: “We are moving from an opaque system, inherited from the last century, to digitised, traceable and fair social housing.”
This vote also carries a decisive judicial stake. The 26th recommendation provides for the transmission to the justice system of all minutes taken behind closed doors: testimonies given under oath, with considerable evidential value. Voting against this report means voting against this transmission. This is an individual responsibility that every MP will have to assume.
Aurélie Czekalski, MR MP and Vice-Chair of the Committee: “153 hours of hearings, 49 witnesses, weeks of intense negotiations, and an opposition that preferred to sabotage the Parliament's work. We stayed. What would have happened if we too had given up? Nothing.”
The MR held course. It initiated this committee, ensured its chairmanship, appointed opposition rapporteurs to guarantee balance, and kept working when some chose to abandon their posts. The result transcends partisan divides: these recommendations form an ambitious synthesis, incorporating contributions from the whole majority, and will be transposed into ordinances applicable across the entire Brussels Region.
With the MR, the Brussels-Capital Region will never again accept that social housing is handed out as a political favour.
Amin El Boujdaini, MR MP, highlighted the historic scope of the reform: “This reform marks a major turning point for the governance of the Foyer Anderlechtois. No political official will ever again be able to influence a decision with a simple phone call or by interfering in data management. The rules will be the same for everyone, with transparent, traceable and controlled procedures. This is a victory for tenants, for workers and for trust in institutions. Politics must set the rules and monitor their application, never intervene in individual cases.”
Among the major advances secured by the MR are notably:
- Complete depoliticisation of the allocation, transfer and exemption of social housing. Politicians will no longer have any decision-making power over these matters;
- The creation of a digital platform allowing candidates to apply without intervention;
- The traceability of any political intervention with the SISPs, now sanctioned under the regional code of ethics;
- The independence of social workers, grouped into an autonomous structure, detached from housing companies;
- The strict separation of roles within boards of directors: politics handles strategy, professionals handle operations.
Louis de Clippele, MR rapporteur, recalls the urgency of these reforms: “The management contracts between the Region and the SLRB expire in January 2027. We worked quickly, because we wanted recommendations applicable from the start of the new term.”
Find all 26 recommendations here: https://www.mrbruxelles.be/recommandations-de-la-commission-denquete-sur-le-foyer-anderlechtois/