Rehearsal for the Housing Uprising

Tim and Luis hadn't planned to take part in the protest last Tuesday. Nevertheless, the two 14-year-olds are watching from the sidelines as, according to media reports, between 120 and 200 people outside the Chamber chant "Speculation has to go", "Housing Justice" or "Wat brauche mer? – E Loyersdeckel" ("What do we need? – rent cap"). Thirteen youth organisations had called for the protest.

Two tents stand outside the Chamber of Deputies. A cardboard sign satirises the sometimes absurd asking prices: 2,000 euros for 10.5 square metres, centrally located with a view of the Chamber.

Even though teenagers don't need to worry about it just yet, they too are aware "that fewer and fewer flats are available and prices are rising all the time. It makes you worry even now about how you're going to find affordable housing in the future, " says one of them.

Young people like Tim and Luis are hardly to be seen this Tuesday afternoon. Only a handful of pupils have made their way to the Chamber of Deputies, even though the interests of young people in particular were supposed to be at the heart of the protest. After all, it is the decisions being made today on housing policy that will shape their future. Whether they will live on this side or the other side of the border, whether they can still hope to own a home, or how long they will have to continue sharing a roof with their parents.