Author
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:[1]
- Move to an LRI (local reception initiative) 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 two times for one month, and in exceptional cases a person may stay after these 4 months. In the majority of cases, requests for prolongation have to do with difficulty of finding housing on the private market. To a much lesser extent, prolongations are requested based on ongoing education or on reasons of autonomy.[2]
- Leave the shelter within a short time with the support of meal vouchers with a monthly value of €420 (adult) or €180 (children).Persons that leave the centre shortly after receiving a status, will receive 4 months worth of meal vouchers. Persons leaving at a later stage receive two or one month(s) of meal vouchers depending on the moment of departure.[3]
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.[4]
Since several years, the outflow of recognised refugees from reception centres is hindered by a shortage in housing supply. In the first two months of 2026, 3,242 persons requested a prolongation of their stay in the reception centre, pointing at difficulties finding housing.[5] In practice, the period of up to 4 months is usually too short to move on to housing and people may end up staying longer than 4 months especially if they are vulnerable In 2025, on average, persons remained in the reception centre for 115 days after receiving a positive decision.[6] 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,[7] 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.[8]
To contribute to solutions to this crisis, Fedasil, along with IOM and Orbit vzw have started a pilot project on housing for recognized refugee in Belgium (PATHS program). This project is currently set to run until October 2027, one of the aims being to launch a national housing matching platform.[9]
The government decree provides for a complete abolition of LRI’s, following a reduction of the influx of asylum seekers.[10] The government has confirmed that the closing of local reception centres will be in function of the inflow and outflow numbers.[11] However, LRI’s have already started closing[12] despite the fact that to this day, there is still a shortage of reception places and an occupation rate of the reception network of 94% on the 1st of March 2026.[13] Additional funding to municipalities to incentivize them to set up local reception was also ended.[14] Several organisations have raised concerns on the phasing out of LRI’s.[15]
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.[16] To illustrate the extent of this housing crisis in Flanders:
- In March 2026, it was reported that approximately 176,000 families were on the waiting list for social housing in Flanders.[17] In Brussels Capital region, 62,234 families were on the waiting list end of 2025.[18]
- In 2023, almost one in ten homes carried the label ‘poor or very poor’;[19]
- In 2023, about 50% of private tenants spent more than 30% of income on rent.[20]
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 Case) that advocates for a fair and just housing policy in Flanders,[21] 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’.[22]
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.[23] 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.
Since 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.[24] In the coalition agreement of the Flemish government it was decided that this language level will be raised to level B1 from 2027.[25]
[1] Fedasil, ‘Instruction transition from material aid to social welfare’, 25 July 2024, p. 1, available in Dutch here.
[2] Information provided by Fedasil in March 2026.
[3] Information provided by Fedasil in March 2026.
[4] Information provided by Fedasil in March 2025.
[5] Information provided by Fedasil in March 2026. This number excludes non-accompanied minors and persons in the reception network after resettlement.
[6] Ibid.
[7] 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/.
[8] 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, MO*, ‘From shelter to uncertainty: How recognized refugees are left out in the cold’, 27 December 2024 (by Mieke Schrooten), available in Dutch here.
[9] Fedasil, PATHS project: housing, 8 August 2025, available in English here.
[10] Federal Government Decree 2025-2029, 31 January 2025, p.164, available in Dutch here.
[11] Minster of Asylum and Migration, ‘Van Bossuyt is eliminating the subsidy for new local reception initiatives’, 18 March 2025, available in Dutch here.
[12] VRT, ‘Aalter is ending its local shelter initiative for asylum seekers: “Without subsidies, it becomes too expensive”’, 4 December 2025, available in Dutch here. GVA, “More and more municipalities are discontinuing local shelter services for asylum seekers: “We need to focus on our core responsibilities.””, 27 November 2025, available in Dutch here
[13] Fedasil, ‘statistics’, available in English here.
[14] Minster of Asylum and Migration, Van Bossuyt schrapt premie voor nieuwe lokale opvanginitiatieven (LOI), 18 March 2025, available in Dutch here..
[15] Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, ‘why it is too early to close local shelter initiatives’, 19 December 2025, available in Dutch here; VVSG, ‘Federal decisions and local consequences for asylum, migration, integration, and equal opportunity’, 1 April 2025, available in Dutch here.
[16] To find more information on the housing issue (and recommendations) please see: ‘Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, People First: The Path to a Genuine Asylum Policy. Proposals for the 2019 Elections: Flemish-Federal-European, November 2018, available in Dutch here.
[17] De Morgen, Significant variations in waiting times for public housing: one in three is placed within two years, while four in ten have to wait 10 years, 18 March 2026, available in Dutch here.
[18] Bruzz, Record number of people on the social housing waiting list, 6 February 2026, available in Dutch here.
[19] Woonsurvey 2023, available in Dutch here.
[20] Woonsurvey 2023, available in Dutch here.
[21] De Woonzaak: https://www.woonzaak.be/.
[22] 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/.
[23] Huurdersplatform, Lokale binding sinds geboorte, March 2022, available in Dutch at: http://bit.ly/3maMyNY
[24] Website of Flanders regional administration: conditions for social renting. Available in Dutch at: https://bit.ly/49cVDbC.
[25] Flemish government agreement 2024 2027, available in Dutch here.