After having been postponed twice, a court in Leuven (Flemish Brabant) has given its verdict in the case against the Appeltans family. Members of the family stood accused of being slum landlords and of housebreaking. Arnold and Manu Appeltans were sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment each for slum renting and housebreaking. They must also pay a total of almost 4 million euro in fines. Another suspect in the case Lizzy S. was given a one-year suspended prison sentence.
The Appeltans’ company NV Arlimo must pay a fine of 1.56 million euros. The family was convicted of slum renting and house-breaking but was acquitted of being part of a criminal association. Six properties have been confiscated as were the rents collected from them.
Arnold Appeltans his and son Manu must repay almost 695,000 euro and around 697,000 euro of rent respectively and have been fined 1.92 million euro each. Arnold Appeltans’ wife Lizzy S. must pay a fine of 768,000 euro and repay almost 695,000 euro in rental income. Rental income from nv Arlimo amounting to over 217,000 euro must also be repaid.
Inhumane conditions
The judge described the inhumane conditions in most of the Appeltans' properties. "They themselves lived in wealth and luxury, but they did not grant their tenants proper housing" the judge said. Most of the properties have been declared uninhabitable. Manu and Arnold would certainly be aware of the serious defects, as they regularly visited the properties to collect rent.
The public prosecutor's office launched an investigation in 2018. Following the tightening of legislation around rental properties they allegedly started renting their properties to vulnerable tenants such as refugees. Further inspection revealed 51 of the 56 properties were not in order.
Some were damp with mould on the walls, rodent droppings on the stairs or broken heaters in winter. The family should have been aware of these circumstances. Manu Appeltans is due to appear again on 11 February 2025 for housebreaking. This time not in Leuven but in Tongeren (Limburg). Here too, there were damp problems in two properties and a risk of electrocution.