More affordable housing

“Housing Pact 2.0: introduce the possibility of ‘offsetting’ the construction of affordable housing during a second construction project,” says , managing director of Kuhn Construction.

“In the event of an expansion of the buildable perimeter, allow for 50% affordable housing,” suggests , managing director of the Société Nationale des Habitations à Bon Marché (SNHBM), Luxembourg’s national low-cost housing administration.

“Repurchase of property programmes by all municipalities with state aid,” says Martine Gerber-Lemaire, managing partner of Dentons Luxembourg. “This could be financed by a tax on building land not put on the market or vacant homes or by doubling property tax.”

Reform off-plan housing (VEFA)

A suggestion put forth by Stéphanie Pautot, partner at Elvinger Hoss Prussen, and Aurélie Petersen, senior associate: “Secure VEFA and, in particular, the completion guarantee, which should cover the land and not just the buildings.”

“Make a (pragmatic) reform of the legislation covering invoicing arrangements as well as the completion and repayment guarantee,” says , managing partner of DSM Avocats à la Cour.

And also....

“Create an independent property observatory to monitor prices, transactions and trends in real time for greater transparency,” says Laurent Olmedo, CEO of Creahaus. “We need more data to be able to make decisions. Statec is at least three months behind schedule. We need access to notary data like every other country.”

“Allow Prolog to cover a guarantee for people who want to take out a bridging loan to buy a larger home, in the event of family expansion,” suggests Luxreal chairman .

“Reduce parking constraints to encourage the creation of housing. Some regulations impose too many parking spaces, which limits the capacity to build housing despite sufficient available surface area. This constraint leads to an artificial increase in the size of flats, often making them inaccessible to some customers. By readjusting these requirements according to the context of each municipality, housing development would be more consistent with growing demand.”

For example:

- In areas well served by public transport, reducing the minimum number of parking spaces would free up space for more housing.

- In areas away from city centres and where car use remains essential, maintaining requirements could be relevant.

- In historic centres or protected areas, a more flexible approach would avoid constraints that are incompatible with heritage preservation.

“A review of parking obligations would thus enable a better response to local realities, optimise the use of land and offer more accessible housing,” say Thibaut Gasparini and Diane Baradel from Arcane Architectes et urbanistes.

“Increase the use of materials from local sources to better anticipate changes in material costs with the emergence of decarbonisation and circular economy requirements,” says , director of Poeckes.

“Incentives/facilitations should also be put in place by the government to help older people free up areas that are too large for them (family homes or large flats) that they no longer have use for, particularly after the children have left, and which can be costly to maintain, so that they can move into spaces that are better suited to their needs,” suggests independent director Emmanuelle Ramponi.

“Increase the number of colivings, providing a small private space, but sufficient for privacy and cosy common spaces (kitchen, lounges, etc.) with a profusion of services (laundry, gym, etc.),” Ramponi adds.

“Abandon bills that negatively impact investor confidence or the borrowing capacity of market players (notably the PDL ‘Baulandvertrag,” as well as new restrictions in relation to the rental lease),” says Mario Di Stefano from DSM Avocats à la Cour.

“Give foreigners the right to vote,” suggests the SNHBM’s Guy Entringer.

“Recreate the emotional component that has been somewhat lost in Luxembourg,” puts forth , head of Luxembourg for Nextensa.

“Improve (additional) transport infrastructure,” says , managing director of Immobel Luxembourg.

“Reform the Mietgesetz (residential lease): A national commission should be set up to bring together various experts (developers, builders, bankers, trade unionists, civil servants, researchers, etc.) under the direction of the housing minister,” says Max Leners, avocat à la cour at Leners. “Together, these experts would be tasked with assessing the level of return on a rental property that would be fair not only for the owner of the property, but for society as a whole. On the basis of these assessments, a new maximum rent, currently set at 5% of the capital invested, would be established. All participants involved in this process would have to publicly declare their property assets.”

“Create an ‘Order of Property Developers’: this order, modelled on the Luxembourg Bar Association or the Association of Architects and Engineers, will have the task of strengthening the bonds of trust between property developers and the public. Through its bodies, the order should ensure that its members comply with the rules of the profession (for example, by checking that the instalments invoiced by the developer are actually owed by the purchaser),” adds Leners. “It should also listen to the difficulties that private individuals may encounter with developers and should ultimately sanction developers who fail to comply with the legislative framework and the order’s internal regulations.”

“‘Abolish’ notaries and create a low-cost public service: an efficient, fast and digital public service that would take over the role currently played by notaries in property transactions,” suggests Leners. And, he adds: “Strengthen the control of real estate transactions and grant the Luxembourg authorities effective means of investigation.”

“Implement a ban on renting out F- and G-rated housing: as in France, all homes with an energy rating of F or G will no longer be able to be rented out and will have to be renovated. At the same time, a premium may be granted for letting A-rated homes, particularly for developers with unsold new homes. There will be a shift in tenants to this type of housing,” says Martine Gerber-Lemaire from Dentons Luxembourg.

“Extend the existing package of measures that are starting to bear fruit,” suggests Roland Kuhn of Kuhn Construction.

This article was written in  for the  of Paperjam magazine, published on 24 April. The content is produced exclusively for the magazine. It is published on the site to contribute to the full Paperjam archive. .

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