Luxembourg Acquires 30 ROOTS Apartments for €20.6m Under VEFA Programme

On Friday 11 September 2026, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning announced that the State had acquired 30 apartments in the ROOTS residential project in Esch-Belval for €20,615,258 under the VEFA housing acquisition programme.

The announcement came as Housing and Spatial Planning Minister Claude Meisch attended the project’s topping-out ceremony (Fête du Bouquet), which Chronicle.lu also attended. Once construction is completed, the 30 apartments will be rented out as affordable housing.

The ROOTS project is being developed by BPI Real Estate Luxembourg. The Société nationale des habitations à bon marché (SNHBM) is overseeing the construction of the 30 homes acquired by the State and will subsequently be responsible for their rental and management.

“The topping-out ceremony marks an important milestone. We are getting closer to the moment when these 30 affordable homes will welcome their first residents, who will be able to make a home there and fully take part in neighbourhood life,” stated Minister Meisch. He added: “Thanks to the VEFA acquisition programme and close cooperation between public and private actors, the State can rapidly increase the stock of affordable housing and respond to the needs of our citizens. With an additional envelope of €300 million, we will continue this ambitious programme in order to further expand the State’s supply of housing and guarantee more households quality housing at an affordable price.”

Continuation of the VEFA acquisition programme

According to the ministry, the acquisition of housing under VEFA has become a structuring instrument of national housing policy. It allows the State to rapidly increase the supply of affordable housing while supporting activity in the construction sector.

Additional €300m for VEFA

The first programme for the acquisition of affordable housing under VEFA had a budget of €480 million. Through this programme, the State acquired or reserved 830 homes intended to accommodate around 2,600 residents.

The government has now allocated an additional €300 million to continue the programme and further increase the supply of affordable housing.

To respond to market realities, several adaptations have been made to the scheme. One of the main changes concerns the possibility for the State to acquire only part of the housing units within a project. According to the ministry, this option allows more projects to benefit from the scheme while optimising the use of public funds.

By intervening from the beginning of the sales process, the State can act as an “anchor reservation” by securing part of the sales. The ministry noted that this intervention helps strengthen the confidence of private buyers and facilitates reaching the pre-sale threshold required by banking institutions to finance projects.

A project located in the heart of Belval

Located in Esch-Belval, the ROOTS project also forms part of the objectives of the Programme directeur d’aménagement du territoire (PDAT).

According to the ministry, the choice of location reflects national spatial planning objectives, which prioritise the creation of housing in areas with easier access to infrastructure, essential services and public transport.