BELGIUM: Funding crisis forces closure of housing rights organisation

The Brussels-based housing rights organisation Angela.D, a pioneer in defending the right to housing of women and minorities, reported in July that it has to close its doors and lay off its whole staff due to a lack of funding from the Brussels government and its failure to implement its financial commitments.

Brussels saw more than 600 days of political paralysis following the 2024 election, with parties unable to form a coalition until earlier this year. In the absence of a full government, organisations across Brussels’ civil society sector faced frozen subsidies, delayed payments, and refusal of new contracts, while amounts approved by parliament have not been paid. At the same time, wages have been indexed without corresponding increases in subsidies. The new government’s austerity policy has made the situation worse, as it has implemented further cuts whilst failing to honour its previous financial commitments.

The organisation warns that the withdrawal of funding and its resulting layoffs is devastating for delivering essential services, erodes expertise built over years of work, and abandons people facing housing insecurity, particularly women, single-parent families, and other groups disproportionately affected by the housing crisis.