{"id":667,"date":"2026-10-25T13:45:42","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T12:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/case-law\/judgment-woonhaven\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T09:15:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T08:15:00","slug":"judgment-woonhaven","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-woonhaven\/","title":{"rendered":"Where social fraud is suspected, an investigation into foreign property is mandatory"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-artikelkop bb-artikelkop--beeld\" id=\"artikelkop\" data-bg=\"primary\" style=\"--bb-ak-img:url(https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-woonhaven.webp)\"><div class=\"bb-container bb-artikelkop__inhoud\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">CASE LAW \u00b7 JUSTICE OF THE PEACE COURT OF ANTWERP<\/p><h1>Where social fraud is suspected, an investigation into foreign property is mandatory<\/h1><p class=\"bb-artikelkop__meta\">Justice of the peace court (vredegerecht) of Antwerp \u00b7 Woonhaven case \u00b7 based on a report in Het Nieuwsblad<\/p><div class=\"bb-artikelkop__kort\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">In brief<\/p><\/p>\n<p>The justice of the peace (vrederechter) in Antwerp ruled in favour of the housing company (woonmaatschappij) Woonhaven in a case against a tenant who owned property abroad. The court went a step further: a housing company is not only permitted to investigate whether a tenant owns property abroad, it is obliged to do so. It was the third case in a row that the city of Antwerp won on this point.<\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><\/section><nav class=\"bb-breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><ol><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/\">Home<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/\">Case law<\/a><\/li><li><span aria-current=\"page\">Where social fraud is suspected, an investigation into foreign property is mandatory<\/span><\/li><\/ol><\/div><\/nav><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-kolommen\" id=\"inhoud\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><div class=\"bb-kolommen__grid\"><div class=\"bb-kolom bb-kolom--hoofd\"><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"de-zaak\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The case<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><\/p>\n<p>Woonhaven, the largest housing company in Antwerp, brought a tenant before the justice of the peace because he owned property abroad. The company claimed repayment of the rent reduction the man had received for nine years. The amount was approximately EUR 50,000, including the costs of the investigation.<\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"het-oordeel\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The decision<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><\/p>\n<p>The justice of the peace ruled in favour of Woonhaven and added a consideration of principle. A housing company has a duty to investigate property abroad. According to the judgment, this is in keeping with its remit to provide dwellings for households and single people in need. The court pointed in this respect to the waiting lists: in Antwerp, 24,400 prospective tenants were at that time waiting for a social housing unit.<\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"de-praktijk-in-antwerpen\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The practice in Antwerp<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><\/p>\n<p>Since 2017, the city of Antwerp has been using external investigation agencies to investigate suspicions of property abroad. The Antwerp alderman for Social Affairs felt strengthened by the judgment: it was the third case to come before the court and the third that the city won.<\/p>\n<p>According to the city, an investigation is only started if there are indications or suspicions that a tenant is committing fraud. In 40 to 50 percent of those cases, the suspicion turns out to be correct. In the court case that follows, no fines are sought; what is claimed is repayment of the rent reduction, the costs of the investigation and the dissolution of the lease. Anyone who sells the dwelling abroad and regularises their situation may in some cases keep the social rental dwelling.<\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"vlaams-kader\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>Towards a Flemish framework<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><\/p>\n<p>In response to these cases, the Flemish Minister for Housing announced a legal framework within which all housing companies can have such investigations carried out, through a public tender with one or more specialised agencies. That framework has existed since March 2021 in the form of the Flemish framework agreement for foreign property investigation. You can read more about this in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/knowledge-base\/framework-agreement\/\">the Flemish framework agreement explained<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"betekenis\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>What this means for housing companies<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><\/p>\n<p>According to this ruling, checking property abroad is not a choice but a duty arising from the remit of the housing company. This may strengthen your position towards tenants who dispute the investigation, and it is consistent with the rulings of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-hamme-2019\/\">justice of the peace in Hamme<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-antwerp-2020\/\">court of first instance of Antwerp<\/a>. Each ruling relates to a specific case file and offers no guarantee for the outcome of another case.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: Het Nieuwsblad, report on the judgment of the justice of the peace court of Antwerp in the Woonhaven case; republished by SCEPTR (January 2020).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><\/section><\/div><div class=\"bb-kolom bb-kolom--zij\"><aside class=\"bb-kaart bb-ihk\" id=\"in-het-kort\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">Overview<\/p><h2 class=\"bb-ihk__kop\">In brief<\/h2><dl class=\"bb-ihk__lijst\"><div><dt>Lead time<\/dt><dd>usually 1\u20132 weeks<\/dd><\/div><\/dl><p class=\"bb-ihk__knop\"><a class=\"bb-knop\" href=\"\/en\/request-a-pre-check\/\">Request a pre-check<\/a><\/p><ul class=\"bb-ihk__trust\"><li><span class=\"bb-icoon material-symbols-outlined\" aria-hidden=\"true\">check_circle<\/span><span>Carried out in accordance with the GDPR<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--panel bb-kaarten bb-kaarten--kb\" id=\"gerelateerd\" data-bg=\"panel\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>More case law<\/h2><div class=\"bb-grid-3\"><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/jurisprudentie-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Case law\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Case law<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">Case law on foreign real estate owned by social tenants: Hamme 2019, Antwerp 2020, Woonhaven, Constitutional Court 2024 and Cassation 2026.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-hamme-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Ruling of the justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Ruling of the justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">Justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019: a social tenant with concealed property in T\u00fcrkiye repays the undue benefit and investigation costs.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-hamme-2019\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-antwerpen-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Judgment on appeal: court of first instance of Antwerp, 5 October 2020\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Judgment on appeal: court of first instance of Antwerp, 5 October 2020<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">Judgment on appeal of the court of first instance of Antwerp (5 October 2020): concealing foreign real estate is a serious breach of social housing rules.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-antwerp-2020\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-cta bb-cta--beeld\" id=\"cta\" data-bg=\"primary\" style=\"--bb-cta-img:url(https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/cta-band.webp)\"><div class=\"bb-container bb-cta__inhoud\"><h2 class=\"bb-cta__kop\">Discuss your case<\/h2><p class=\"bb-cta__tekst\">Do you have a question about real estate abroad? We are happy to discuss which service suits your case. You receive clarity in advance about the assignment, the lead time and the costs.<\/p><p class=\"bb-cta__knop\"><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--invers\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/contact\/\">Discuss your case<\/a><\/p><p class=\"bb-cta__contact\"><a href=\"tel:+31851110123\">+31 (0)85 111 01 23<\/a><span aria-hidden=\"true\"> \u00b7 <\/span><a href=\"mailto:info@bureaubuitenland.be\">info@bureaubuitenland.be<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/section><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1615,"parent":585,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-667","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail"],"bb_rendered":"<section class=\"bb-sectie bb-artikelkop bb-artikelkop--beeld\" id=\"artikelkop\" data-bg=\"primary\" style=\"--bb-ak-img:url(https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-woonhaven.webp)\"><div class=\"bb-container bb-artikelkop__inhoud\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">CASE LAW \u00b7 JUSTICE OF THE PEACE COURT OF ANTWERP<\/p><h1>Where social fraud is suspected, an investigation into foreign property is mandatory<\/h1><p class=\"bb-artikelkop__meta\">Justice of the peace court (vredegerecht) of Antwerp \u00b7 Woonhaven case \u00b7 based on a report in Het Nieuwsblad<\/p><div class=\"bb-artikelkop__kort\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">In brief<\/p><p>The justice of the peace (vrederechter) in Antwerp ruled in favour of the housing company (woonmaatschappij) Woonhaven in a case against a tenant who owned property abroad. The court went a step further: a housing company is not only permitted to investigate whether a tenant owns property abroad, it is obliged to do so. It was the third case in a row that the city of Antwerp won on this point.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><nav class=\"bb-breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><ol><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/\">Home<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/\">Case law<\/a><\/li><li><span aria-current=\"page\">Where social fraud is suspected, an investigation into foreign property is mandatory<\/span><\/li><\/ol><\/div><\/nav><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-kolommen\" id=\"inhoud\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><div class=\"bb-kolommen__grid\"><div class=\"bb-kolom bb-kolom--hoofd\"><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"de-zaak\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The case<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><p>Woonhaven, the largest housing company in Antwerp, brought a tenant before the justice of the peace because he owned property abroad. The company claimed repayment of the rent reduction the man had received for nine years. The amount was approximately EUR 50,000, including the costs of the investigation.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"het-oordeel\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The decision<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><p>The justice of the peace ruled in favour of Woonhaven and added a consideration of principle. A housing company has a duty to investigate property abroad. According to the judgment, this is in keeping with its remit to provide dwellings for households and single people in need. The court pointed in this respect to the waiting lists: in Antwerp, 24,400 prospective tenants were at that time waiting for a social housing unit.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"de-praktijk-in-antwerpen\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The practice in Antwerp<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><p>Since 2017, the city of Antwerp has been using external investigation agencies to investigate suspicions of property abroad. The Antwerp alderman for Social Affairs felt strengthened by the judgment: it was the third case to come before the court and the third that the city won.<\/p>\n<p>According to the city, an investigation is only started if there are indications or suspicions that a tenant is committing fraud. In 40 to 50 percent of those cases, the suspicion turns out to be correct. In the court case that follows, no fines are sought; what is claimed is repayment of the rent reduction, the costs of the investigation and the dissolution of the lease. Anyone who sells the dwelling abroad and regularises their situation may in some cases keep the social rental dwelling.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"vlaams-kader\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>Towards a Flemish framework<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><p>In response to these cases, the Flemish Minister for Housing announced a legal framework within which all housing companies can have such investigations carried out, through a public tender with one or more specialised agencies. That framework has existed since March 2021 in the form of the Flemish framework agreement for foreign property investigation. You can read more about this in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/knowledge-base\/framework-agreement\/\">the Flemish framework agreement explained<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"betekenis\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>What this means for housing companies<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><p>According to this ruling, checking property abroad is not a choice but a duty arising from the remit of the housing company. This may strengthen your position towards tenants who dispute the investigation, and it is consistent with the rulings of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-hamme-2019\/\">justice of the peace in Hamme<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-antwerp-2020\/\">court of first instance of Antwerp<\/a>. Each ruling relates to a specific case file and offers no guarantee for the outcome of another case.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: Het Nieuwsblad, report on the judgment of the justice of the peace court of Antwerp in the Woonhaven case; republished by SCEPTR (January 2020).<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><\/div><div class=\"bb-kolom bb-kolom--zij\"><aside class=\"bb-kaart bb-ihk\" id=\"in-het-kort\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">Overview<\/p><h2 class=\"bb-ihk__kop\">In brief<\/h2><dl class=\"bb-ihk__lijst\"><div><dt>Lead time<\/dt><dd>usually 1\u20132 weeks<\/dd><\/div><\/dl><p class=\"bb-ihk__knop\"><a class=\"bb-knop\" href=\"\/en\/request-a-pre-check\/\">Request a pre-check<\/a><\/p><ul class=\"bb-ihk__trust\"><li><span class=\"bb-icoon material-symbols-outlined\" aria-hidden=\"true\">check_circle<\/span><span>Carried out in accordance with the GDPR<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--panel bb-kaarten bb-kaarten--kb\" id=\"gerelateerd\" data-bg=\"panel\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>More case law<\/h2><div class=\"bb-grid-3\"><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/jurisprudentie-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Case law\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Case law<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">Case law on foreign real estate owned by social tenants: Hamme 2019, Antwerp 2020, Woonhaven, Constitutional Court 2024 and Cassation 2026.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-hamme-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Ruling of the justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Ruling of the justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">Justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019: a social tenant with concealed property in T\u00fcrkiye repays the undue benefit and investigation costs.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-hamme-2019\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-antwerpen-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Judgment on appeal: court of first instance of Antwerp, 5 October 2020\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Judgment on appeal: court of first instance of Antwerp, 5 October 2020<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">Judgment on appeal of the court of first instance of Antwerp (5 October 2020): concealing foreign real estate is a serious breach of social housing rules.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-antwerp-2020\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-cta bb-cta--beeld\" id=\"cta\" data-bg=\"primary\" style=\"--bb-cta-img:url(https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/cta-band.webp)\"><div class=\"bb-container bb-cta__inhoud\"><h2 class=\"bb-cta__kop\">Discuss your case<\/h2><p class=\"bb-cta__tekst\">Do you have a question about real estate abroad? We are happy to discuss which service suits your case. You receive clarity in advance about the assignment, the lead time and the costs.<\/p><p class=\"bb-cta__knop\"><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--invers\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/contact\/\">Discuss your case<\/a><\/p><p class=\"bb-cta__contact\"><a href=\"tel:+31851110123\">+31 (0)85 111 01 23<\/a><span aria-hidden=\"true\"> \u00b7 <\/span><a href=\"mailto:info@bureaubuitenland.be\">info@bureaubuitenland.be<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/section>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=667"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1616,"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/667\/revisions\/1616"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}