Social housing has traditionally gone up on the commune’s outskirts in Moorsel or behind the KAT school, with exceptions like the vacant Linde tower near Diependal. The Linde’s renovation starts next year and when completed would deliver 52 units. Vossem’s Kleine Ham brings another 40–50. The planned “densification” of Ravenstein, behind the KAT school complex, will add more.
Due to its size, the Ravenstein Masterplan has to undergo a mobility study, possibly adding a new road onto the Tervurenlaan. And water buffering and removal of hard surface pavements could possibly prevent flooding. Flanders now has a provisional binding target to build 50,000 new social housing units between 2026 and 2042.
“For Tervuren, a provisional binding target has been set. It means that Tervuren must add 139 social housing units,” said Carine Borghans (Groen+Vooruit). To bolster the commune’s Flemish character, social housing tenants without basic Dutch now face fines up to €500 starting Jan. 1, 2025. The bar rises to intermediate Dutch in 2027 under a policy by Flemish Housing Minister Melissa Depraetere (Vooruit).
Prioritizing Locals
Former mayor and current housing alderman Marc Charlier (N-VA) said the town is considering a bylaw to boost “living in your own region” by setting eligibility criteria. The lucky ones, who meet the age, language, and residency duration criteria, are deemed sufficiently “Tervurenaar.” They can then buy and build with subsidized Tervuren land.
The legal framework suffered a recent setback at Belgium’s constitutional court over EU free movement principles. And Tervuren’s own variant of the policy has seen unnamed councillors buy cheaper under tweaked conditions.
Tervuren Social Housing Targets
- Target: 139 new units by 2042
- Key Projects: De Linde (52 units), Kleine Ham (40–50 units), Ravensteinwijk densification
- Local Priority: Bylaw pending to prioritize “Tervurenaars”
- Language Policy: Fines for lack of basic Dutch starting Jan 1, 2025
