Belgium - Housing



Belgium no longer has a housing shortage. In the mid-1970s, an average of over 60,000 new dwellings were built every year; by the early 1980s, however, the government sought by reducing the value-added tax on residential construction to revitalize the depressed housing market. Public funds have been made available in increasing amounts to support the construction of low-cost housing, with low-interest mortgages granted by the General Savings and Retirement Fund. In the 1980s, over half of all housing units were one-family houses, and approximately one-fourth were apartments. Owners occupied 60% of all dwellings and 35% were rented. Housing starts totaled 46,645 in 1992, up from 44,484 in 1991. The total number of dwellings in 1991 was 4,198,000. The same year, at least 85% of all dwellings had access to the basic conveniences of safe water and sanitation systems.

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