Housing crisis: why municipalities often do not (or cannot) build

Emile Eicher has been President of the association of municipalities and towns (Syvicol) for more than 13 years and can look back on a career of almost 30 years as a municipal leader, first as Mayor of Munshausen, then of the merged municipality of Clervaux, where he is still an alderman today. He also represents the CSV in the Chamber of Deputies. The Journal met the mayor of the mayors for an interview in mid-July.

Lëtzebuerger Journal: Mr Eicher, why aren't the municipalities building more housing?

Because they have different finances. There are a number of municipalities that have enormous problems financing projects that they absolutely need, such as building schools or repairing infrastructure. For rural communities in particular, it is extremely difficult to master the basics. And almost all municipalities have been somewhat overwhelmed by growth. Most municipalities have built schools or are still in the process of doing so. That is a huge cost item. And then it's the turn of the infrastructure, whether it's a sewage treatment plant, the water supply or simple road construction. Enormous sums are at stake and not every municipality has the same chances of being able to build at all.

However, the law is now being changed and we will receive higher subsidies for investments (the municipalities will in future be able to receive the "rémunération du capital investi", which is an additional financial incentive, ed.). This will encourage some municipalities to become active themselves. We also never understood why municipalities were not given the same opportunities as, for example, a Church Factory (which managed the assets of churches until 2018, ed.).

However, problems remain, such as the many requirements, some of which still exist today, which are relatively strict and do not necessarily make building cheaper.

In addition, people's expectations and demand have changed enormously. We no longer build the way we did 20 years ago. We have to take account of the fact that society has changed significantly and that we have many single parents. Accordingly, we have to build differently.

In fact, Statec data shows that there are now almost as many one-person households in Luxembourg as two-person households (2021). Is the way we build adapted to this social development?

That's what I was just talking about. This development has been rapid and the way we build has not yet adapted sufficiently. However, you can see that construction is more intensive and that more apartment blocks are being built, for example, which make do with fewer large rooms.

What's more, habits have also changed. Not everyone wants a garden anymore. Some are content to go to the park with their children. Others prefer to share the meadow behind the house with others. This saves space and still provides a quality of life.