Public petition n°4132

Petitioner: Olivier Cano

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This petition calls upon the Government and the Chamber of Deputies to declare a national housing emergency and, consequently, to deploy all necessary financial and human resources to ensure that structural measures enter into force before the end of 2027. These structural measures could include, among others: - A national register of buildings and housing; - A reform and the effective enforcement of rent caps, including the right for tenants to be reimbursed in the event that their rent exceeds the legal limit; - A national tax on vacant housing and a national tax on land mobilization; - An annual investment of 1% of GDP into the creation or acquisition of affordable housing; - A mandatory threshold requiring each municipality to offer a minimum of 20% affordable housing within its housing stock by 2035; - A guaranteed minimum density for projects built by public developers (SNHBM, Fonds du Logement); - The creation of a public-private partnership between the State and social partners, funded by employer and employee contributions, aimed at building affordable housing; - A procedure authorizing municipalities to reclaim buildings and buildable plots in a state of manifest abandonment, characterized notably by a severe and long-term lack of maintenance.

In his 2002 State of the Nation address, Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker declared: « Et muss elo an direkt ee Ruck duerch de Wunnéngsmaart goen » (A jolt must go through the housing market right now). More than 20 years later, the conclusion is undeniable: the housing crisis has become a permanent crisis that prevents many fellow citizens, especially young people, from living and working in Luxembourg. Nearly 10% of households spend more than 40% of their disposable income on housing. Yet, the necessary structural measures are still not in place. The tax on vacant housing will not take effect until 2030, even though estimates suggest there are nearly 20,000 vacant homes in the capital alone. The bill on the national register of buildings and housing is not expected to be adopted until the end of autumn 2028. A reform of rent caps is not on the agenda, and the density of affordable housing projects remains insufficient. While these reforms are complex and require significant work from state and municipal services, their implementation is solely a matter of allocating the proper resources to the issue. The country can no longer wait; it needs effective and immediate measures. Declaring a national housing emergency would mean that the Government and the Chamber of Deputies acknowledge that progress so far has not been fast enough. The State and its services could then decide to allocate all necessary human and financial resources to accelerate the drafting of these reforms and ensure they take effect by the end of 2027. Such a declaration would also imply that the housing issue be treated as a cross-cutting governmental priority. If housing is recognized as a national emergency, its resolution cannot be the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Housing. All ministries, administrations, and public stakeholders must contribute, within their respective remits, to achieving this priority objective. A national emergency demands a coordinated mobilization of the entire State to accelerate the implementation of the necessary reforms and respond to the scale of the crisis.