Audit Reveals Systemic Fraud at Saint-Josse Housing Agency

A devastating audit has revealed that the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode social housing agency (AISSJ) systematically allocated public housing to its own employees, their family members, and friends for nearly two decades, with 86% of examined files showing irregularities. The findings have sparked outrage across Brussels and prompted a judicial investigation.

According to RTBF, the audit by Audit.Brussels examined 181 first-allocation files covering 18 years of operations at the agency, which managed approximately 230 private rental properties in the commune until its bankruptcy in December 2025. Of those files, 94 were confirmed as fraudulent, 44 were presumed fraudulent, and 24 were classified as irregular due to missing documentation.

How the Fraud Operated

The audit describes a “globally failing allocation system” and “active involvement of staff members in the creation of fraudulent documents.” Employees manipulated the waiting list by backdating registration dates, forging homelessness attestations — which give priority — and inflating points totals to favor preferred candidates.

As Bruzz reported in its original investigation, at least 15 family members of current or former employees received social housing, with 12 of those contracts still active as of February 2026. In one striking case, a staff member helped her sister, uncle, two aunts, and grandmother obtain housing — the grandmother was on her deathbed in hospital and died just two days after the lease began.

At least six allocations were made to employees themselves, with auditors deeming five of those fraudulent. Some employees had incomes exceeding the threshold for social housing eligibility. The VRT NWS investigation noted that one employee “could propose a property to herself and also accept that proposal, both as a staff member and as a candidate tenant.”

Financial Misappropriation

One employee transferred at least €18,733.93 in rent payments from 27 tenants to her personal account and those of two family members between 2013 and 2017. The agency collapsed under more than €500,000 in debt and was declared bankrupt in December 2025.

Five property-owning landlords placed their own family members in social housing while continuing to receive regional subsidies and renovation aid, effectively double-dipping from public funds.

Political Entanglement

The AISSJ board was closely intertwined with the municipal administration of Saint-Josse. Christian Boikete served simultaneously as AISSJ president, chief of staff to Mayor Emir Kir, and brother of the local PS leader and former housing alderman Philippe Boikete. Boikete told Bruzz he “had to trust blindly,” saying “I didn’t work at that office and my own administration hid things from me.”

His successor, Luc Fremal — who is also president of the local Public Social Welfare Center (CPAS) — claimed he was only aware of one fraud case and that the employee was subsequently dismissed.

Systemic Oversight Failure

The audit heavily criticizes the regulatory body, Brussels Housing (Brussel Huisvesting), for failing to act despite repeated warning signs dating back to 2013. The agency admitted it “does not have a legal framework or sufficient manpower to carry out in-depth checks.”

Internal controls were virtually nonexistent. The allocation committee existed only on paper and never actually reviewed allocations. The audit notes that even when a formal committee was established in 2019, it received new dossiers in 92% of cases only after the lease had already begun.

Broader Implications

The scandal has erupted against the backdrop of a broader parliamentary inquiry into social housing practices in Brussels, particularly the Anderlechtse Haard affair. The problems extend beyond Saint-Josse: the employee who embezzled rent payments was subsequently hired by the social housing agency in Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe, where four more probably fraudulent allocations occurred under her involvement.

The audit report was transmitted to the Brussels public prosecutor’s office in February 2026, and a judicial investigation is underway. The Brussels Region has joined the case as a civil party. On 10 June 2026, the Saint-Josse municipal college demanded full transparency and reserved the right to join as a civil party.

What’s Next

Questions remain about whether the parliamentary inquiry commission will be expanded to include the Saint-Josse scandal, and what reforms will be implemented to prevent similar systemic failures across Brussels’ 22 social rental agencies. Mayor Emir Kir, already facing coercive trusteeship over the commune’s finances, now confronts a deepening crisis of confidence in his administration’s oversight of public resources.