Leuven (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Leuven changed housing rules to allow student rooms in the city centre to fill empty spaces. Alderman Lies Corneillie now focuses on helping families find bigger homes and keeping a housing balance. The “Kotmadam formula” lets families rent extra rooms to students.
In Leuven, there have been rules to stop turning houses into student rooms. This is to keep neighbourhoods nice and balanced. But there is an exception for buildings in the city’s commercial centre. Alderman Lies Corneillie said that past leaders saw many empty spaces above shops in the main area. To fix this, the rules were changed.
Now, these empty spaces can be turned into student rooms. Lies Corneillie mentioned that this choice aims to fill empty places and create more homes for the many students in Leuven. By using these buildings better, the city wants to make the commercial centre more lively and reduce unused areas.
What changes is Leuven making to address housing needs for families and students?
Leuven has seen more families looking for bigger homes in the city centre. Many families want to live in urban areas. Alderman Corneillie noticed this trend and said the city needs to change its plans. The earlier rules helped fill empty homes and added student housing.
Now, the city understands it must also focus on families. Leuven wants to review its housing policies to create a balanced market. They mentioned that this will support different kinds of people and help build a community in the city centre.
My predecessors noticed that there were often vacancies above and around shops,
says alderman Corneillie.
The legislation was then relaxed to combat vacancies and to allow more student rooms. But in the meantime, we notice that families need these more spacious houses.
Leuven is facing a problem in its housing market, especially in the commercial centre. Many homeowners are changing their larger houses into smaller rental units to earn more money. Authorities mentioned that this trend is good for property owners but bad for families looking for homes.
They mentioned that by splitting bigger homes into small rooms, there are fewer options for families. As a result, families are struggling to find suitable places to live. Alderman Lies Corneillie says this trend needs to be stopped to ensure the city has different housing choices for everyone, not just for individuals or small households.
Homeowners in the shopping area are dividing their homes into smaller rooms more often,
says Corneillie.
The city has lifted a rule that allowed homeowners in the commercial centre to divide their houses into smaller units. This decision was made in a recent city council meeting. Authorities mentioned that the aim is to keep a good mix of housing options. Families should be able to find suitable homes even in busy shopping areas.
Alderman Corneillie believes the commercial centre can be a nice place to live if there are enough homes for everyone. With this change, Leuven hopes to create a more welcoming housing market for families.
Leuven is also focusing on a program called the “kotmadam formula.” This program helps families who have extra rooms in their homes to rent them out to students. The idea is that families can keep their homes while giving students a place to live.
Local officials mentioned that families can earn some extra money, and students can find affordable housing. They said that there is a condition that the rented room and the rest of the house must be large enough for everyone.
