Many households who could get financial help to pay their rent do not ask for it, says housing minister Henry Kox. Photo: Shutterstock

Many households who could get financial help to pay their rent do not ask for it, says housing minister Henry Kox. Photo: Shutterstock

The number of rent subsidy applications that have been refused increased in 2021, despite less households asking for help to pay their rent.

Around 60,000 households in the grand duchy rent on the private market, according to , the housing minister (Green party). Around 36,000 of these are eligible for a rent subsidy, he revealed on 1 April by DP MP Max Hahn. But, only 19.8% of these candidates actually send an application in to receive the financial support.

In Luxembourg, when more than 25% of the combined incomes of a household go towards paying the rent of one’s main and permanent accommodation, those residents can ask for state aid. In 2021, only 3,529 new requests came in, the minister said, while 7,146 were paid out. This rate of 19.8%, or one in five households,  proportionally hasn’t changed compared to 2020. During the lockdown year, 3,712 homes asked for help, and 6,541 were granted it. 

However, more requests--1,236 compared to 726 in 2020--were refused in 2021 too. Reasons cited by Kox included an income that was too high for the aid (497), not sharing income data (91), households that already received help from the solidarity fund FNS (15), and 340 where the reason wasn’t mentioned. For 293 cases, the so-called ‘taux d’effort’--which compares the expenses going towards the accommodation and the total income of the family--didn’t reach 25%.

With the inflation and energy crisis currently felt around the world, the government has--following several tripartite meetings--announced households. On 1 August the rent subsidy will be increased by 50% meaning that families living under the median standard of living could benefit from up to €400 per month. €5m have been earmarked for rent subsidies within the by the tripartite actors to support households and businesses through the energy crisis,

Rents will also be frozen until 31 December in order to avoid higher rent prices as a result of larger subsidies.

Asked by deputy Hahn why more eligible households did not request the subsidy, housing minister Kox answered that the housing observatory was tasked in 2022 with reviewing the ways in which the subsidies are accepted by households. He also said that “the phenomenon of not asking for aids that are available isn’t just seen in the rent subsidies or in Luxembourg.”

The trend was apparently observed in other cases of higher aids and in Belgium too.