Luxembourg could start expropriating housing
Naomi Hébert, Unsplash
On 8 May, the Minister of Housing, Claude Meisch, presented amendments to the 2023 law on affordable housing with an important innovation: such projects can now be recognised as utilité publique. This is not just a formality - this classification opens up the legal possibility of applying expropriation, i.e. the alienation of private property in exceptional cases. The Ministry confirmed this possibility on 28 May, commenting on the changes within the framework of the new constitutional reality, according to which the right to decent housing has become a constitutional value.
As explained by the authorities, "public benefit" is a narrower and more specific concept than "general interest" (intérêt général). While the "general interest" covers all public activities, the status of "utilité publique" applies only to specific construction or infrastructure projects. This provides a legal instrument defined by objective criteria, which can be particularly important when making decisions on alienation.
Nevertheless, the government emphasises that expropriation will be used only in extreme cases, similar to other infrastructure projects such as road or school construction. This is also confirmed by the position of the Ministry of Housing Policy: the new draft law should emphasise the prioritisation of housing tasks, but without unnecessary intrusion into private property.
Georges Krieger, President of the Union of Luxembourg Property Owners (ULPI), disagrees with this approach. In an interview, he expressed concern that the possibility of expropriation constitutes a "violation of property rights" and, in his view, should only be used as a last resort. However, this is precisely the strategy that the government states.
The recognition of affordable housing as a matter of "public utility" can be seen as a legal and political shift from a declarative concern for housing to an instrumental approach. The state has shown a willingness to act, using more decisive mechanisms, but at the same time trying to maintain a balance between collective need and the protection of private property.
