“The professional chambers are firmly opposed to these amendments, which will have very little positive impact on the evolution of rents,” explained the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Trades. Photo: Shutterstock

“The professional chambers are firmly opposed to these amendments, which will have very little positive impact on the evolution of rents,” explained the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Trades. Photo: Shutterstock

The Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Trades say they are “firmly opposed” to the reform of the residential lease. While housing minister Henri Kox (déi Gréng) believes that it will lead to an effective rent ceiling, for the chambers, this reform will, on the contrary, lead to rent increases.

(déi Gréng) the government's amendments to bill n°7642 amending the amended law of 21 September 2006 on the lease for residential use, also known as the rental lease. According to the minister, these amendments made it possible “to have an effective rent ceiling, the obligation for the owner to determine the invested capital, the obligation of a written lease contract with an indication of this invested capital in order to give tenants the necessary transparency to protect themselves against usury rents.”

However, since its presentation, this reform has not ceased to be criticised, not only by associations such as but also by opposition parties such as the CSV, in January, when it presented its ideas for dealing with the housing crisis, or by the Chamber of Employees. The latest reaction to date: the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Crafts issued a joint opinion on Monday 13 February as part of the legislative process of the reform.

Attractiveness of investment reduced

“The professional chambers are firmly opposed to these amendments which will have very little positive impact on the evolution of rents,” they explained in a press release. “On the contrary, by imposing a certain number of charges on landlords and above all by sending a series of negative signals to investors, [they] believe that this project could in the long term have a strong impact on the supply on the rental market, which, in a context of continuous increase in demand, will necessarily lead to rent increases, i.e., the opposite of the objectives stated by the bill in question.”

The professional chambers believe that the amendments (discounting of the capital invested as of two years of existence of the property, lowering of the maximum rate of return), combined with other reforms such as that of the depreciation for rental properties, “tend to considerably reduce the attractiveness of investment in new rental property.”

A negative impact on supply

An attractiveness that has already been at half-mast for several months and which had pushed the Chamber of Trades and the Federation of Craftsmen to sound the alarm at the end of last year. However, the accentuated fall in the number of new constructions for lack of investors could not only have a negative impact on the supply on the rental market, “with the result that rents will rise in the context of an ever stronger demand, but also lead to a significant fall in the activity of this sector with the consequence of job losses.”

“For all of these reasons, the professional chambers believe that in the current economic context, particularly in view of the rise in interest rates, and in order to maintain a sufficient level of construction both to meet the country's needs and to preserve employment in the real estate sector, it is essential to maintain the attractiveness of investment in rental property,” they insisted.

This article was first published in French on and translated for Delano.