Molenbeek Housing Manager Dismissed for Abusing Position

The co-coordinator of the M.AI.S. (Agence Immobilière Sociale), the social housing agency of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean in Brussels, has been dismissed after an internal investigation uncovered systematic abuse of power spanning from 2023 to early 2026. The allegations include using subsidized agency workers for personal property renovations, attempting to secure preferential management terms for her own property, and fraudulently manipulating her daughter’s housing application.

The Board of Directors of M.AI.S. decided on July 16, 2026, to dismiss the co-coordinator, referred to as “Madame XXX” in the internal report, following the presentation of an investigation that detailed multiple instances of misconduct, as reported by RTBF.

A Pattern of Self-Dealing

The internal investigation revealed that the manager used an M.AI.S. worker to carry out renovations on her own property — a home not managed by the agency. While she paid the worker and for materials, she benefited from the agency’s 20% discount on supplies and a subsidized hourly rate for the worker’s salary. She was also billed for fewer hours than were actually worked.

When confronted with these facts, the manager stated she was “not defrauding” and described the irregularities as a “succession of good-faith errors,” according to the internal report cited by RTBF.

Further conflicts of interest emerged when she placed one of her own properties under M.AI.S. management. She attempted to secure preferential conditions: a three-year mandate instead of the standard nine years, and an exemption from the 5% management fee. The current M.AI.S. president refused to validate this mandate, forcing her to revert to standard terms, as DHNet and L’Avenir reported.

Daughter’s Housing Under Scrutiny

Perhaps the most serious allegation concerns the allocation of a social housing unit to the manager’s daughter. According to the internal investigation, priority points for “over-indebtedness” were added to the daughter’s application file on February 11, 2023, without supporting documentation. Then, just 11 days before the unit was allocated, the manager personally added priority points for a “66% disability” — also without any supporting evidence in the paper file.

“We find no proof in the file for these 66% disability points,” the internal report states. During her hearing, the co-coordinator indicated that it “would not be a problem if her daughter had to leave the housing” to protect the agency’s reputation, and committed to making amends if necessary.

Additional Irregularities

The investigation also found that the manager used the agency’s Dacia van for personal purposes for approximately three years, despite the existence of a van usage form that she did not apply to herself. The internal report noted pointedly: “when there were attempts to establish a framework, like the van usage form, she does not apply it to herself, does not set an example, and does not enforce its use among the workers.”

Additionally, she was recruited before obtaining her social work diploma, which she ultimately never completed after failing to finish her thesis. Yet she was paid on a higher salary scale than her actual diploma warranted for 13 years.

Defense and Context

In her defense, the manager claimed she acted without clear guidelines, had to make decisions alone, and blamed the recurrent absence of the former M.AI.S. president under the previous legislature. However, the investigation noted that even when rules were established, she failed to follow them.

The scandal comes amid a broader crisis in Brussels’ social housing sector. The AIS of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode declared bankruptcy in October 2025 with €520,000 missing from its accounts, leaving tenants facing potential rent doubling after DHNet reported on the fallout. An audit of that agency found nearly 90% of files were illegal or fraudulent, following the earlier Foyer anderlechtois scandal.

Political Repercussions

The current Molenbeek municipal majority — a coalition of the Socialist Party (PS), Workers’ Party (PTB), and local list MAMA — has stated its determination to restore order and proper governance to the AIS. The scandal places additional pressure on a coalition already grappling with severe budgetary constraints, including 40 layoffs at the CPAS (public social welfare center) in mid-2026.

What’s Next

It remains unclear whether the dismissed co-coordinator will face legal charges or whether the matter will remain an internal employment issue. The Brussels-Capital Region may launch a broader investigation into all AIS agencies, while questions persist about what will happen to the daughter’s tenancy and whether the former M.AI.S. president will face scrutiny for his absence during the alleged misconduct.

For the thousands of vulnerable families relying on social housing agencies for affordable housing in Brussels, these revelations deepen concerns about favoritism and corruption in a system already under severe strain.