WILLEMSTAD – Fundashon E Hende has lost its court case against the Country of Curaçao over the sale of public housing to tenants. The court rejected the foundation’s claims on all points, ruling that the government has no legal obligation to actively offer its public housing stock for sale.
The judgment is a setback for Fundashon E Hende, which has campaigned for years for tenants of public housing to be given greater opportunities to acquire the homes in which they live.
In October 2024, Curaçao Chronicle reported that the foundation had intensified that campaign after meeting with members of Parliament. At the time, Fundashon E Hende argued that transferring public housing to residents was necessary to provide justice to tenants and pointed to legislation dating back to 1962 governing the acquisition of public housing by tenants.
The court has now rejected the foundation’s interpretation that the government is required to take an active role in offering those homes for sale.
According to the ruling, Curaçao’s severe housing shortage provides an important reason for the government to exercise restraint when selling existing public housing. Keeping homes within the public rental stock ensures they remain available in the future to people with limited financial means who depend on affordable housing.
That consideration has become increasingly significant as demand for affordable housing continues to rise. Earlier this year, Curaçao Chronicle reported that 16,371 families had registered through Fundashon Kas Popular’s housing system as of January 1, 2026.
The court therefore did not accept Fundashon E Hende’s position that existing rules and government decisions require Curaçao to actively facilitate the sale of public housing to current tenants.
Several of the foundation’s arguments relied on government decisions and policy dating from the 1980s and 1990s. The court found that the foundation had not sufficiently substantiated that those decisions created a current enforceable obligation requiring the government to sell the properties.
The ruling does not mean that public housing cannot be sold to tenants. Rather, the court found that the government cannot be legally compelled, on the grounds presented by Fundashon E Hende, to actively put those homes up for sale.
That distinction is relevant because the current government itself continues to promote homeownership as part of its housing policy. Curaçao Chronicle reported in May that FKP launched the pilot phase of its Mi Kas Awor program, which is intended to help more families move from long-term renting toward affordable homeownership.
Government figures published earlier this year also indicated that the sale of government homes to tenants continued during 2025 alongside major investments in maintenance and new housing.
The dispute therefore centers less on whether public housing may ever be sold and more on whether tenants can legally force the government to actively offer existing public rental properties for purchase. On that question, Fundashon E Hende has now failed to convince the court.
The judgment comes amid Fundashon E Hende’s continued political campaign on the issue. As recently as July 16, the foundation submitted a letter to the Curaçao Parliament requesting parliamentary debate and an investigation into what it described as a violation of structural agreements concerning the sale of social housing, subsidies to FKP and Fundashon Fiansa Popular, and other issues involving public housing.
Fundashon E Hende was ordered to pay Cg 4,000 in legal costs as a result of losing the case.