Rental guarantee PCSA
Public Center for Social Action

The PCAS offers help to the most disadvantaged to build up their rental guarantee and find accommodation.

In each Belgian municipality there is a Social Action Center to allow “everyone to lead an existence in conformity with human dignity”. These public bodies are responsible for providing social assistance to the most disadvantaged, as well as social, psychological, administrative and financial support. The main objective is to help them integrate into social life.

Social action is mainly aimed at people who cannot claim social security, in particular Belgian minors, political refugees. Depending on their personal situation, they may be granted an integration income.

The CPAS social action center concerns other people in difficulty for whom one-off help can be requested.

As part of its missions, the PCAS has been able since 2007 to provide valuable assistance to tenants with low financial resources. The assistance of the PCAS can take several forms, the two main ways to help are:

• Obtain a rental guarantee from a bank. In this specific case, the bank commits on behalf of the PCAS and not that of the future tenant.
• The PCAS can also use a letter of guarantee in which it undertakes to pay the rental guarantee to the lessor in the event of default by the lessee.

As part of the bank guarantee obtained with the help of the PCAS, the amount of the rental guarantee can represent up to 3 months of rent for the rental property.