After being forced to live without electricity, heat and hot water for seven months, two tenants in Luxembourg are now finding themselves evicted with the rooms they rented shut down over the poor condition they are in.
The Luxemburger Wort in December had reported on Chris Evans and Nico Steland’s living conditions, and how they had been abandoned by their landlord in Weimerskirch with no basic amenities and a flat in disrepair, including a dislodged toilet. Multiple attempts by authorities to intervene with the lessor at this point had failed.
The City of Luxembourg has been paying the electricity bill since mid-December, with Steland citing the help of alderwoman Corinne Cahen (DP) as instrumental.
“I’m glad she helped. She came here, promised that we would have electricity again, and by the afternoon the power was back on,” he said.
However, Steland has since been told that he must leave the flat, leaving him with little hope. “I only have a small disability pension, so there’s not much to go on,” he said. Steland suffers from osteoporosis and had to retire early. “I’ve worked for 37 years, but I can’t afford rent of €1,500-1,700.”
Nico Steland grew up in a social housing centre, he explains. Now, if possible, he doesn’t want to move into one again. © Photo credit: Marc Wilwert
The small pension is how he ended up in his living situation in the first place, he said.
He has submitted applications to find a new flat with several agencies, but has repeatedly been told that there is nothing available.
While he appreciated the help of Cahen and a social worker who assists him, he still feels left to fend for himself: “I haven’t done anything wrong; I’ve paid my rent. What can I do if my landlord doesn’t care?”
Evicted family paying for hotel as search for new home continues
Steland receives support
The building belongs to what Nico Steland describes as a “wealthy landlady”, who owns numerous other properties in addition to the one in Weimerskirch. She rents it out to the Munhowen Brewery as the main tenant.
The brewery, in turn, sublets the entire building to the missing manager of the café, Steland’s landlord, against whom the company has since taken legal action, Munhowen managing director Isabelle Lentz confirmed in December.
Ironically, among the stickers on the window of the former pub belonging to Steland’s missing landlord, there is one bearing the slogan “Rent eats away at life”. © Photo credit: Marc Wilwert
Multiple inquiries failed to reveal why the rooms above the bar were being closed. But Cahen confirmed that this decision was not taken by the City of Luxembourg.
While she was intervening to organise a furnished room for Steland, a solution was found through a scheme run by the Comité national de défense sociale (CNDS), a non-profit that runs a “housing first” programme, which can provide housing for 24 people.
His new flat won’t be ready for a few weeks. At the time of reporting, the City of Luxembourg’s housing service was looking into whether Steland could stay in his old room until the move.
Part of a wider problem
“This case is no exception, I’m afraid to say,” Cahen said, “but rather, to some extent, just business as usual. There are so many illegal flats.”
Known as Cafézimmer, these flats are often located above cafés and bars, let by their managers. Frequently in poor condition, they are cheap alternatives in the housing market. Authorities in Differdange last year closed several rooms as they violated health and safety laws.
Several breweries are looking to bring their buildings into line with regulations, Cahen said. “They have the opportunity to do so as soon as a tenancy agreement expires. And, of course, the building must be vacant for renovation.” She has had “very good and positive experiences” with the breweries, Cahen said. “The problem lies more with the operators.”
This case is no exception.
Corinne Cahen (DP)
Alderwoman, City of Luxembourg
Back in December, Maxime Miltgen – a City of Luxembourg councillor for the LSAP opposition – had raised the problem in the municipal council and called for measures to be taken in such cases, specifically sanctions against landlords and, if necessary, the closure of the property.
Cahen also called for landlords to be held accountable and for the appropriate penalties to be applied in the event of offences.
Social ostracism
Occasionally, those affected receive media attention, but this does not always have positive effects, Steland said.
“I’m looked at as if I were a serious criminal or an alien who doesn’t belong here,” he said, explaining that he spends a lot of time outdoors and also with homeless people in the streets. “Since the first article about my situation, it’s become even more extreme,” he said about being recognised from the media coverage.
Apart from a woman who lives on the same street and occasionally brings him food, and his friends on the street, not many people treat him with respect, Steland said. With the move to a functional flat, Steland hopes his situation will improve.
Prior to the announced closure of the rooms above Café Lakert, Chris Prior found another flat and moved out. He sent a notice of termination. It will probably soon be stuck in the door of the café, alongside the numerous other unopened letters, at the landlord’s last known address.
(This article was first published in the Luxemburger Wort. Translated using AI, edited by Cordula Schnuer.)
