By Melike Pala
BRUSSELS (AA) - Authorities in Belgium's Flanders region are considering using household waste data as part of their efforts to detect social housing fraud, Flemish-language daily De Standaard reported Tuesday.
The proposal targets domiciliary fraud, in which tenants no longer live in their social housing or register too many residents at a single address. Such cases are classified as criminal offences and may result in penalties.
Currently, authorities rely on consumption data, neighborhood inquiries, home inspections, and, when necessary, interviews or searches to identify fraud.
The new draft decree would allow household waste levels to serve as an additional indicator.
Flemish Housing Minister Melissa Depraetere stressed that waste data would not be used alone. "An unusually small or large amount of waste can be a signal when there are suspicions. ... But we are not going to count rubbish bags," she added.
The move is part of broader social housing policy reforms, which include higher language requirements, stricter conditions linked to employment willingness, and more checks on foreign property ownership.
The government also plans to address housing shortages by building more social housing, with over 200,000 households on waiting lists and a target of 56,000 additional homes by 2042.