Belgian state ordered to pay utility bills for Rue de la Loi squat

The Belgian state has been ordered to pay the water and electricity bills on behalf of 66 asylum seekers who lived in an abandoned building on Rue de la Loi two years ago, a court has ruled.

A justice of the peace first ruled this to be the case in August 2023 but the Belgian state and Fedasil, the federal agency for the reception of asylum seekers, had appealed against the earlier decision.

In this most recent ruling in favour of the squatters, the judge said that the government and Fedasil had failed to provide sufficient space in regular shelters.

“The costs associated with the occupation of the building (water and electricity), the costs of cleaning and eviction, the costs of their deportation are all causally linked to the fault of the Belgian state and Fedasil,” the court ruled.

The owner of the building had the asylum seekers evicted from the premises and demanded that they pay for the water and electricity consumption. The asylum seekers' lawyers then went to the magistrate's court to recover the costs from the Belgian state.

The judge has now confirmed that the water and electricity bills – €4,731.51 and €4,924.16 respectively – must be paid by the government. The state must also reimburse a series of other costs to the company that owns the property.

Marie Doutrepont and Véronique van der Plancke, the lawyers representing the asylum seekers, see the ruling as a strong signal.

“This is yet another confirmation of the Belgian state's persistent failings in complying with the law, which requires it to provide dignified accommodation to people seeking protection in our country,” the lawyers said in a statement.