Nos revendications | Se loger sans se ruiner
HOUSING WITHOUT GOING BROKE! WE CLAIM THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO HOUSING.
Luxembourg is currently facing a housing crisis that has produced record price increases in the housing market for several years, despite the fact that it has been announced since the 1990s. In figures this translates concretely as follows: in 2019 prices increased on average by 11%1 in 2020 it was a price increase of 14.5%2 and finally we can expect a new price increase for 2021 (pending the price evaluation of the 4th quarter 2021).
Added to this is the context of the current health crisis of Covid-19, which has further aggravated the precarious situation of vulnerable people seeking emergency housing. Among these people are mainly single parents or victims of domestic violence, the vast majority of whom are women; in 2020 alone, an increase of 11.07% compared to 2019 of police intervention3 due to domestic violence, has been recorded.
In Luxembourg, access to affordable and decent housing is not constitutionally guaranteed and therefore not recognized as a fundamental right. Over the years, land has become primarily an instrument of speculation and therefore less and less accessible for people with a minimum or even average salary.
The vast majority of land is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals and/or companies4. In addition to this, a large part of the building land, i.e., the land on which the owners could build, is nevertheless not mobilized.
The housing crisis is defined by a shortage of decent and affordable housing and has its origin in the fact that a very small number of natural and/or legal persons hold the vast majority of the available land in Luxembourg for speculative purposes. While this crisis affects society as a whole, JIF is also concerned about it in its key demands, as many women are among those most affected by this crisis, including single parents, women of color, LGBTIQ+ people, and women victims of domestic violence. The context of the current health crisis must also be considered, as this crisis has amplified the state of vulnerability of some people including victims of domestic violence.
Faced with the housing crisis, the current government has already put in place measures to combat rising prices and to allow the creation of more affordable housing. However, these are only long-term measures, which do not help people who are currently facing urgent situations in terms of access to housing. That is why the JIF platform calls on the government to proceed with short- and medium-term measures to fight against the consequences that affect mainly the most vulnerable.
This is why we demand the fundamental right to housing in law as well as in practice. This implies several actions in the immediate and medium term:
- Guaranteeing the right to affordable and decent housing at a constitutional level
- Establishing a neutral application system in the housing market
- Establishment of a special financial aid dedicated to single parents and victims of domestic violence in order to allow access to the (normal) housing market
- Temporary blocking of the second or third purchase of land by natural or legal persons (Swiss model)
- Moratorium on evictions during the whole period of the health crisis
- Capping of rents
- Increase in the percentages stated in article 29 of the Housing Pact 2.0 for the creation of affordable housing
- Forced mobilization for the creation of affordable housing on building land owned by the municipalities
1 – https://statistiques.public.lu/fr/actualites/entreprises/logement/2020/04/20200408/index.html
2 – https://paperjam.lu/article/immobilier-augmentation-annuel
3 – https://mega.public.lu/fr/actualites/2021/Juin/Violence-domestique-Une-realite-quotidienne.htm
4 – https://logement.public.lu/dam-assets/documents/actualites/2021/11/29pk_foncier/Complement-d-information-a-la-Note-29-de-l-Observatoire-de-l-Habitat.pdf