Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Belgian Vlaams Plane party has asked the government to impose stricter oversight on social tenants in relation to properties abroad. “Today, Housing Minister Mathias Diependael boasts that 500 social tenants have been arrested in three years, but this is just the tip of the iceberg,” says the Flemish MP from Vlaams Plange Guy Deselaer, who requested the figures from the minister. “Vlaams Belang has been complaining about this for years. However, e-government portals are easier to access in more controlled countries.
Het Laatste Nieuws reported today that 233 investigations had been carried out in Turkey, 157 in Morocco, and 56 in Italy.
  In Turkey, a housing company came across a social tenant who owned a plot of land and a house worth €396,000.
“At the beginning of this year, there were a total of 23,466 social tenants who did not have Belgian citizenship. Only four percent of these tenants had been inspected,” says Desilliers. “On the other hand, Belgian-Flemish social tenants are 100% cross-checked.” Various databases for property ownership abroad.
Through a statement distributed this morning, the party wants to conduct further investigations. “What Minister Diependel is doing now is just a drop in the bucket,” Flemish Member of Parliament Deisler continues. “In a city like Antwerp there are almost no tests, and in Ghent there are not even any tests.
“An investigation only begins if fraud is suspected. Nothing happens systematically. However, it is easy to access e-government portals in more controlled countries.” Half of the investigations show fraud. We must combat social rent fraud more vigorously. Because it can be done more efficiently, but especially because social scammers refuse to give up their place to people on a waiting list that lasts for years.
We have always been cool lovers of the present system of controls on foreign property. We only ask that foreign social tenants be checked as stringently upon registration as their Belgian counterparts of Flemish social tenants. It seems natural to me that everyone who relies on the solidarity of Flemish taxpayers should be scrutinized in exactly the same way with regard to social housing conditions,” Desilliers concludes.