Nearly 1.9 million people now live alone in Belgium, a 52% increase over thirty years. In Brussels, this trend is even more pronounced: in several municipalities, nearly six out of ten households now consist of a single person. A demographic reality that must also be reflected in our public policies.
For several years, MR Brussels MP Aurélie Czekalski has championed a "Single Friendly" approach, aimed at better taking into account people living alone when shaping public policy.
Taxation, housing, access to credit, energy and fixed costs: many mechanisms today are still largely designed around the couple model, even though life paths have changed profoundly.
In this op-ed, Aurélie Czekalski calls for public policies better suited to this new reality, without creating privileges, but ensuring that people living alone are not penalised because of their situation.
Living alone in Brussels: a reality that demands we rethink our public policies
When I first raised the idea of a "Single Friendly" policy a few years ago, some still saw it as a “niche issue”. An article published in Le Vif proves once again the opposite is true. People living alone have never been so numerous in Belgium. Nearly 1.9 million people live alone in Belgium, a 52% increase over thirty years. More than one in three adults now lives in a single-person household.
Brussels perfectly illustrates this trend. In several municipalities of the capital, nearly six out of ten households consist of a single person. This is no longer an exception: it has become a major feature of our society.
This trend stems from multiple factors. Life paths are more diverse than before. Being single is increasingly a choice. Separations and divorces are more common. Single-parent families are more numerous. Life expectancy is also rising, increasing the number of elderly people living alone. Yet our system remains largely built around the couple model. Taxation, housing, public support, access to credit and fixed costs: in many areas, living alone still means being at a disadvantage.
Yet living alone does not cost half as much. Rent, insurance, subscriptions, energy costs and taxes do not decrease proportionally because one lives alone. On the contrary, these expenses weigh much more heavily on a single person's budget.
This reality calls for a political response.
Being an inclusive Region is not only about recognising the diversity of life paths. It also means ensuring that public policies do not create indirect discrimination between citizens.
That is precisely the aim of a "Single Friendly" approach: systematically factoring in the reality of people living alone when designing public policy, so that they are no longer the great forgotten group of socio-economic reforms.
Adapting our policies to this demographic shift is not about granting a privilege to certain people. It is simply about ensuring that our decisions finally reflect today's society, because a fair policy is one that takes into account everyone's life circumstances.