Refugees find it hard to find a home
Once an asylum-seeker has been granted refugee status they are given two months to find a home. Currently around 20,000 people are in this situation. Charlotte Vandycke of Refugee Flanders told VRT News that refugees face a number of hurdles when looking for a home.
“There is the language issue, the face that they don’t have a salary, discrimination on the private rental market…”
The problem is not new and it isn’t just an issue for refugees. "The housing crisis has been going on for some time here. Before the onset of the asylum crisis there were 100,000 people on the waiting list for social housing.
Refugee Work Flanders and other NGOs raised the issue with the Minister last November. However, the organisation says that much more still needs to be done.