Anderlecht’s ruling coalition is calling for the resignation of Lotfi Mostefa (PS) following a VRT report that he influences the allocation of social housing
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Anderlecht city councillor under fire for allegedly influencing social housing allocations
Lisa Bradshaw
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Following a report by VRT investigative news program Pano, the Brussels public prosecutor has opened an investigation into political influence in the provision of social housing in Anderlecht. It is the fourth investigation launched against Anderlechtse Haard, the commune’s publicly controlled social housing provider.
In response to the report and this latest investigation, the commune’s ruling coalition is demanding the resignation of 39-year-old housing city councillor Lotfi Mostefa (PS). He is also chair of the board of Anderlechtse Haard.
He acts like Anderlechtse Haard is his personal property
The Pano report, which aired on Wednesday evening, revealed hundreds of phone, email and text messages in which Mostefa arranged housing for certain families who were far down the list of hopefuls. The list for social housing in Anderlecht is notorious, numbering nearly 30,000 families, who wait more than 10 years for a unit.
According to dozens of witnesses, including former and current colleagues, Mostefa also exerts his influence to refuse social housing units to other families. “He acts like Anderlechtse Haard is his personal property,” said one of his colleagues. “He immediately began to interfere with the dossiers.”
What is the Anderlechtse Haard?
The Anderlechtse Haard is the second-largest social housing provider in Brussels, after the City of Brussels. A quasi-public concern, it rents and manages some 4,100 social housing units. These units house more than 8,000 residents, or some 6% of Anderlecht’s population.
Lotfi Mostefa has been chair of the organisation since 2020. Following the 2024 local elections, he also became the city councillor responsible for housing in Anderlecht for the French-speaking socialist party PS.
Like other social housing providers, the Anderlechtse Haard is supervised by the Brussels Regional Housing Association (BGHM). A representative of BGHM reviews and approves each allocation of housing.
In one case that has made headlines, a social housing unit was provided to a man who was number 9,821 on the waiting list – and who was in prison. More than two years later, he still officially inhabits the property, although he was in an out of prison in that period – and is in prison today.
Mostefa’s former assistant testified that, shortly before the 2024 election, he requested a list of families who had been approved for social housing while he was chair of Anderlechtse Haard. She was instructed to phone them with the reminder that he had helped them obtain housing in the past.
In the election, Mostefa received more than 3,600 personal votes, more than the mayor, who was first on the election list. There is also evidence that many voters sent videos and photos to staff at Anderlechtse Haard proving they had voted for Mostefa.
The city councillor declined to be interviewed for the latest Pano report.
This new investigation is being headed by the federal police’s Central Office for Combating Corruption. “In the interests of an ongoing investigation, the prosecutor will not be commenting on this investigation at this time,” said a spokesperson from the prosecutor’s office.