3rd Luxembourg Housing Conference Discusses Affordable Housing Pact 2.0

On Thursday 11 May 2023, social organisations in the field of affordable housing, public developers and municipal housing advisers, as well as several architects and town planners and other interested individuals, met with representatives of Luxembourg’s Ministry of Housing for a day of exchanges at the “Assises nationales du logement” national housing event.

On the agenda was the implementation of the measures and instruments deployed within the framework of the national affordable housing strategy. According to Luxembourg’s Ministry of Housing, the event brought together over 100 people.

The Assises were an opportunity to officially launch the "structured dialogue" between the Ministry of Housing and the actors of affordable housing, i.e. the federation of actors in the social sector in Luxembourg (Fedas) and the union of towns and Luxembourg municipalities (Syvicol), in the presence of developers and public landlords (Housing Fund and SNHBM). Depending on the subject, this exchange platform will be extended to other players in the future.

According to the ministry, the reform of the legislation on affordable housing as provided for by Bill 7937 with the establishment of the social landlord and the national registry of affordable housing (RENLA), involves a series of improvements in the relationship between the actors involved in the construction and management of affordable housing, as well as in taking charge of social support for beneficiaries.

To better support the implementation of the new tools and instruments, a systematic cooperation of the actors involved has become necessary, noted the ministry. The "structured dialogue", officially established on Thursday is reportedly proof of the desire for a permanent exchange with the actors in the field.

“I am particularly delighted with this strengthened collaboration between the Ministry of Housing and the other players in affordable housing. It follows up on many previous exchanges and meetings. It is only by working effectively together that the deployment of the important affordable housing reform can move forward quickly. This reform – the cornerstone of the national affordable housing strategy – is particularly important for achieving the right to housing”, highlighted Luxembourg’s Minister of Housing, Henri Kox, during the Assises.

These third national housing conferences took the form of workshops during which technical aspects relating to the reform of affordable housing and the application of the Housing Pact were discussed. In addition, the housing advisors took part in a half-day of continuing education where they discussed the subjects of “social rental management” and the implementation of the local action programme for housing (Programme d’action locale logement - PAL) of the municipalities. According to the ministry, 97 municipalities have signed up for the Housing Pact 2.0, and many of them have already drawn up their own PAL.

The workshop "Affordable housing in the development of the PAPs" addressed the standards of habitability, densification, enhancement of public spaces, the involvement and support of the local population, the distribution of affordable housing in neighbourhoods and neighbourhood sociology.

Architect and professor Florian Hertweck also addressed these topics during a conference in the evening, introducing the round table "Putting housing back into the centre of the village", discussing the means available to municipalities to achieve more affordable housing and to create neighbourhoods with high urban quality that promote living together.

The roundtable participants were: Henri Kox, Minister of Housing; Christine Muller, urban architect; Christine Thommes-Bach, mayor of the municipality of Wahl; Florian Hertweck, professor of architecture at the University of Luxembourg; Virginie Giarmana, Deputy Director at Inter-actions; Michelle Friederici, President of the OAI.

The conference and the round table were open to the public.