Antwerp Mayor Seals Deurne Apartment Used by Sex Workers

Acting Antwerp Mayor Els van Doesburg has ordered the sealing of an apartment on Bisschoppenhoflaan in Deurne after police determined it was being structurally used by sex workers to receive clients. The residence will be closed from August 18 to September 17, 2026, according to the official Antwerp city press release.

The decision follows a police investigation that began with complaints from residents in mid-May. Neighbors reported unknown men regularly entering the building, waiting in common areas, and ringing wrong doorbells. The elevator was frequently defective, a problem linked to the high volume of visitors that caused particular hardship for elderly residents who depend on it.

Investigation Findings

Police checks revealed that the apartment was rented as tourist accommodation but was in reality being used for prostitution. Two women staying there in early June advertised home reception services in Antwerp on a sex advertisement website. Police recognized the apartment’s interior from one of the advertisement photos, as VRT NWS reported.

Further investigation showed that the property owner himself had made payments for various accounts on the sex advertisement website. Police determined it was not credible that he was unaware of the prostitution activities. The owner allowed the nuisance to continue and did not intervene, even after police explicitly informed him of the situation.

“The continuous stream of visitors caused nuisance and a feeling of insecurity among the residents of the building,” the city stated in its press release. “With this measure, the mayor wants to stop the nuisance, restore the residents’ sense of security, and prevent recurrence of similar incidents.”

A Recurring Problem

This is not the first time the building on Bisschoppenhoflaan has been the subject of sealing measures. The same property was sealed in August 2023 for two months after police found vulnerable foreign sex workers living there. Residents at the time reported used condoms in the hallway, men knocking on wrong doors, sexual noises, and accumulated waste. In that instance, the women paid 420 euros per week in rent for an apartment whose monthly rent was 1,500 euros.

The building was also sealed in February 2026 for one month after police found three rooms being used for prostitution and three foreign sex workers during a follow-up check. In 2021, then-Mayor Bart De Wever issued a measure prohibiting the rental of apartments on the first and second floors following similar complaints and evidence of sexual exploitation.

The history of the building took a tragic turn in January 2023, when Chinese sex worker Lichun Sun was murdered in her rented apartment on Bisschoppenhoflaan. Her body was dismembered and dumped in a suitcase in the building’s basement. In February 2026, an assisen jury found M.K. guilty of manslaughter in her death, as VRT NWS reported. Sun was also a victim of human trafficking connected to the broader Lotus case, a major investigation into a Chinese criminal organization accused of sexually exploiting Chinese women. The Lotus trial began in June 2026 at the correctional court in Ghent, with 38 defendants.

Legal Framework

Sex work has been decriminalized in Belgium since June 1, 2022, but pimping remains a criminal offense punishable with 1 to 5 years imprisonment. Landlords who charge higher rents to sex workers also commit a criminal offense. According to Antwerp city regulations, the city administratively enforces in situations of nuisance, indications of human trafficking, or urban planning violations.

What’s Next

After the sealing period ends on September 17, police will check again whether the apartment is no longer used for such activities. The city’s decisive action reflects a broader pattern under Acting Mayor van Doesburg, who has been actively enforcing public order measures since taking over from Bart De Wever, who became Belgium’s Prime Minister.

The repeated sealing of this particular building raises questions about the effectiveness of enforcement measures and the ongoing challenges of regulating sex work in residential areas. The city’s approach - administrative sealing combined with police oversight - represents its primary tool for addressing such situations while respecting the legal framework that decriminalized sex work in Belgium.