2023-09-21 17:00:00
This Wednesday morning the bailiffs came to knock on the door of Julie (not her real name) who lives in Peterbos with her thirty-year-old son in social housing managed by the Public Service Real Estate Company (SISP) Comensia. The 57-year-old mother was deported. However, things could have happened differently.
Last April, a court decision was issued to authorize Julie’s eviction following rent arrears. A meeting is then organized where Julie’s daughter, Martine (not her real name) undertakes to put several measures in place, in particular to place her mother under administrative guardianship and to resume payments. “The company then grants a deadline until the end of September,” according to Martine.
Martine then obtained her mother’s guardianship and negotiated with the CPAS. The social action center then decides to pay all the arrears and Martine resumes paying the following rents. A procedure has also been launched with the UN to block a potential expulsion.
The information from the UN committee on economic, social and cultural rights is then transmitted to the Housing Corporation of the Brussels-Capital Region, the supervisory body of all SISPs in Brussels and therefore of Comensia. “The SLRB Management Committee has taken the decision to order your company not to evict the tenant concerned during the period of examination of the file by the UN Committee and therefore at least until the end of the winter period (i.e. until March 15, 2024),” we can read in an email sent to the management of Comensia which visibly did not want to respect the orders of its supervisory authority by still proceeding with the expulsion.
“Trust is broken”
For Martine, the situation is incomprehensible. “The rent is even paid until September 30 and he is evicted on the 20th without offering a single solution. They waited until 6 p.m. the day before to tell us. The story is that we can’t reach anyone. Even this Wednesday morning I didn’t believe it. I did everything that was asked of me.” A version contradicted by Comensia: “The irrevocable expulsion decision was taken at the end of May. No agreement or deadline was given after that.”
On the side of the Tenants Union which supports Martine, we speak of a “villainous” practice. “Legally, they have the right to evict but in the event of eviction from social housing, whatever the reason, there would have to be an alternative, which was absolutely not proposed by Comensia. Even worse, when someone like Martine goes out of her way to get all the rent paid and up to date, we don’t evict at all.”
Comensia nuance. It’s not so much a question of rent. “Trust is broken with this tenant. We have 25 years of conflicts, 9 legal proceedings and three judgments which confirm the expulsion. We have more than 3,400 homes: evictions are always a procedure that we seek to avoid. We have on average three per year.” Concerning the non-compliance with the instructions of its guardianship, Comensia does not wish to comment. “There is a conflict of legal interpretation but we have a summary judgment from June which tells us that the rights of the UN convention are respected.”
Another SISP, the Foyer anderlechtois, will have a rehousing solution for Julie still at Peterbos by the end of the week. In the meantime, she slept at a friend’s house and could then stay in a hotel before moving into her new home.
1695335945
#Evicted #Peterbos #accommodation #advice #supervisory #authority #rent #arrears #totally #vile