Authorities in the East Flemish town of Aalter have changed the procedure for registering newcomers in the municipality. First alderman Michael Ally (Flemish nationalist N-VA) announced the news to the municipal council last night. Investigations by VRT’s Pano programme and daily De Morgen showed that non-Belgians in Aalter had had to wait much longer for domicile registration in the municipality than allowed by law.
From now on, anyone who wants to let a house in Aalter will have to possess a certificate proving that the house meets the minimum housing quality standards.
An investigation by Pano and De Morgen showed that previously the municipality requested an inspection of houses expats wanted to rent in order to decide whether a house was suitable to be let. Such inspections mainly befell non-Belgians. As a result they on average had to wait nine times longer than Belgians to be able to move to Aalter.
The East Flanders public prosecutor's office is investigating whether the administration of mayor Pieter De Crem (Flemish Christian democrat CD&V) committed any violations of anti-racism legislation and Audit Flanders has also launched an audit. Equal opportunities centre Unia filed a complaint against the municipal administration for violating the anti-racism law.
‘The tide has turned,’ first alderman Michael Ally (N-VA) said. The N-VA was not part of the previous municipal administration and wants to take a different path. ‘Under this administration, no discriminatory decisions have been taken. ’Figures shared this evening during the municipal council show that only four housing inspections have been carried out in Aalter since the end of January, when the new municipal administration took office. These had nothing to do with racism, according to the city cabinet. ‘We do not know the names of the potential tenants.’
In comparison, in 2024, the municipality requested 77 checks. Only four of these checks involved renters with Belgian nationality, and three of these four people had foreign-sounding names. Of the files still open from the previous council term, 50 people have now been registered. In files where problems surfaced, those involved were provisionally registered, as required by law.