What do we see?
In 2022, 157,504 social housing units were rented out in Flanders. In general, there has been an upward trend in the number of social housing units rented in recent years: the increase since 2012 is 9.7%. In 2022, 16,643 social housing units were vacant, representing 9.6% of the total number. In 2012, vacant properties accounted for 6.3% of social housing.
What’s the aim?
Social housing provides an affordable housing solution for the homeless and people living in poverty. They are also an interesting way to increase the use efficiency of existing housing. For example, social rental offices rent houses from private owners and then rent them out as social housing: the result is less vacancy and better use of available housing. However, more in-depth analysis is needed to interpret the above trends.
What does this indicator measure?
This indicator shows both the number of rented social housing units and the number of vacant social housing units in Flanders. The data comes from the Flemish Agency for Social Housing (Vlaamse Maatschappij voor Sociaal Wonen, VMSW), which compiles figures from social housing companies and social rental offices.
VMSW
