According to a Luxembourgish businessman, the reason of the rising cost of housing is the time-consuming administrative processes.
Flavio Becca, a developer and businessman, has suggested the introduction of a tax on bureaucracy at Ban de Gasperich. Becca stated that he is not against the government raising the tax on property or introducing a tax on speculation. This is because of the idea of building. Becca is a Luxembourgish businessman who believes that the government should institute an additional tax to be imposed on the administrations if they take too long to handle an application.
He blames the rising property prices on the lengthy nature of administrative procedures, adding that “I’m certainly not lining my pockets.” Like developer Marc Giorgetti had already explained to our colleagues at RTL Radio, Becca also points out that if someone was able to earn a profit of 20% on a building, it would have to be split over 20 years. Becca said that he’s owned land plots for 30 years prior to when anything was built on the land.
The developer also said that he would be willing to integrate more affordable housing into his projects, under the conditions that the authorities permit him to construct higher. Becca complained that the opposite is often the situation. For instance, he referred to an instance where the city’s municipality Luxembourg City did not allow the construction of a higher level because “it could have damaged the city’s skyline”. Becca said that he didn’t alter his costs to reflect inflation in the same way as other developers. Becca says that inflation is often artificially manufactured. He claimed that steel companies deliberately reduced their production after falling steel prices in order to push up costs.
The developer is most well-known for his work on the Ban de Gasperich neighborhood. He has also reiterated his plans to organize a tripartite for construction, where the government, municipalities and private developers could come together to seek answers. In fact, Becca would prefer a quadripartite since “the banks must also be represented.” Becca lashed out at Henri Kox, Housing Minister for “purposely excluding” the private sector.
Tram, Eric Lux and other legal issues
Our colleagues from RTL.lu also talked with Flavio Becca on the subject that only one tram line of the planned section of Howald can currently be built. The Olos Fund owns a part of the land. This is because of an unresolved disagreement between Eric Lux and Flavio Lux and Flavio Lux, who were business partners before. Becca says that the temporary administrator and public works administration is on the right path to reaching an agreement. The standoff was allegedly caused by “technical problems.”
Eric Lux’s conflict with Becca was not addressed by Becca; she claimed that the courts were “mature enough to understand” what to do. They are battling over EUR100 million in the Olos Fund.
Becca’s legal dispute with the expensive watches is subject to debate. The Luxembourgish businessman said that he would take the matter to the Court of Cassation.
