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When a person who is staying in a reception centre receives a decision granting a protection status, they start the transitional period. During this period they have the option to:
- Move to an LRI for a maximum of 2 more months, where they will get assistance in finding a place to live, and generally in transitioning to financial assistance if needed. These 2 months can be prolonged for one month, or in exceptional cases to 4 months; or
- Leave the shelter within a short time with the support of meal vouchers with a monthly value of €420 (adult) or €180 (children), for either one, two or four months depending on how quickly they leave the reception centre.[1]
This is specified in internal instructions of Fedasil (see End of the right to reception).[2]
In case the asylum applicant receives a decision granting a protection status while they are already staying in an LRI or an individual place of an NGO, the 2-month transitional period takes place in this type of accommodation. Due to a lack of LRI places however, transitioning to housing is often done from collective reception centres. To make this transition easier for youngsters between 18- and 21-year-old, Fedasil has started pilot projects with the aim, among other things, to increase their autonomy. These projects are now being rolled out across the different centres.[3]
Since several years, the outflow of recognised refugees from reception centres is hindered by a shortage in housing supply. In practice, the period of up to four months is usually too short to move on to housing. It is common that recognised refugees stay in the reception centre longer than that period, especially if they are vulnerable. This practice varies from centre to centre and can also depend on the organisation providing reception. By the end of 2023 at least 3,352 recognised refugees were stuck in federal reception centres due to a shortage of housing in Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia.[4] By the end of 2024, 3,691 persons having received international protection were staying in the Fedasil reception network – this number only contains persons having been granted international protection by the CGRS and does not include those having received international protection by court decision of the CALL. In 2024, applicants who were granted international protection stayed on average for 121 more days in the reception network.[5] Although several civil society organisations and many volunteering groups offer support to refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection by helping them to search for a place to stay,[6] other beneficiaries who need to exit the centres end up homeless. This precarious situation has been denounced on several occasions by civil society, volunteer organisations supporting refugees and refugees themselves.[7]
To contribute to solutions to this crisis, Fedasil established a new ‘housing service’. For now, only one person works here; the service is expected to grow further if the promised funding follows.
Several civil society organisations describe the current situation as a ‘housing crisis’. There is a not only a shortage in social housing, but there is also a general shortage of qualitative and affordable housing for vulnerable groups. Discrimination also plays an important role in the difficulties that beneficiaries of international protection experience in finding affordable housing.[8] To illustrate the extent of this housing crisis in Flanders:
- In March 2024, approximately 176,000 families were on the waiting list for social housing in Flanders.[9]
- Almost one in ten homes carry the label ‘poor or very poor’[10];
- About 50% of private tenants spend more than 30% of income on rent.[11]
The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), that monitors whether the provisions of the European Social Charter are observed, expressed particularly critical opinions regarding some elements of the housing policy of Belgium, among other countries. In 2021, around 70 Flemish organisations, united in a coalition called the ‘Woonzaak’ (Housing Affair) that advocates for a fair and just housing policy in Flanders,[12] started a procedure before the ECSR against the Flemish housing policy. In March 2025, the ECSR ruled that a lack of affordable housing for low-income and vulnerable families in Flanders violates the European Social Charter. In a 66-page report, the ECSR ruled that the Flemish Region ‘has implemented an unfair and inefficient housing policy, based on support for home ownership, that does not meet the objective of a coordinated approach to promote access to housing to eradicate poverty and social exclusion. The report is not legally enforceable, but over time it will be used to evaluate the situation in Flanders’.[13]
On top of the housing crisis, a new allocation system in social renting applies in Flanders from 2023. For 80% of allocations, a ‘local tie’ will be required. This means one will be given priority if they have lived continuously in the housing company’s municipality or operating area for at least 5 of the past 10 years. For newcomers, this implies entering the (social) housing market with unequal opportunities. The Council of State was very critical of this new allocation system. It pointed out that a priority scheme with long-term residence ties could be a serious obstacle to free movement and freedom of establishment within the European Union.[14] The impact on beneficiaries has not been studied yet but given that for newcomers, it is by definition impossible to demonstrate such a long-term connection with a city or municipality, it can be assumed that the impact is significant.
From the start of 2024, new conditions for social renting apply in Flanders, including meeting conditions for Dutch language proficiency (A2 level) and being registered at the employment service if the applicant is not yet working.[15] In the coalition agreement of the Flemish government it was decided that this language level will be raised to level B1 from 2027.[16]
[1] Ibid., p. 3 and 7.
[2] Fedasil, Instructions on the transition from material reception to financial assistance: measures for residents of collective centres and the accompaniment in transition in the individual structures, 14 April 2020, available in Dutch at: https://tinyurl.com/3rr6j65r.
[3] Information provided by Fedasil in March 2025.
[4] Information provided by Fedasil on 14 March 2024 and Fedasil,’Looking for housing’, 18 December 2023, available in Dutch at: https://tinyurl.com/3ypfyexm.
[5] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2025.
[6] For example: Orbit vzw, project “De nieuwe buren: citizens for housing of recognized refugees”, https://denieuweburen.be/; Thope vzw, a volunteer group with focus on finding housing for recognized refugees: https://www.thopevzw.be/.
[7] VRT, ‘Recognised Refugees protest in Ghent after months of homelessness: “How can we integrate without a roof over our heads?”, 19 February 2025, available in Dutch here; MO*, “First make sure recognised refugees are housed, the rest will follow – Plea for a housing-first approach” by Julien Aernoudt (ORBIT vzw), 3 October 2024, available in Dutch here.
[8] To find more information on the housing issue (and recommendations) please see: ‘Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, ‘Mensen voorop: de weg naar een echt asielbeleid. Voorstellen voor de verkiezingen 2019: Vlaams-Federaal-Europees, November 2018, available in Dutch here.
[9] VRT nws ‘Ruim 176.000 mensen op de wachtlijst, tegelijk staan 15.000 sociale woningen leeg: hoe kan dat?’ Available in Dutch here.
[10] Woonsurvey 2023, available in Dutch here.
[11] Woonsurvey 2023, available in Dutch here.
[12] De Woonzaak: https://www.woonzaak.be/.
[13] ECSR, European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) v. Belgium, Complaint No. 203/2021, 19 March 2025, available in English here. More information on www.woonzaak.be/uitspraak/.
[14] Huurdersplatform, Lokale binding sinds geboorte, March 2022, available in Dutch at: http://bit.ly/3maMyNY
[15] Website of Flanders regional administration: conditions for social renting. Available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/49cVDbC.
[16] Flemish government agreement 2024 2027, available in Dutch here.