In Belgium, buying rules depend on the Region. For a sole and own home costing €300,000, registration duties come to €12,500 in Brussels, €9,000 in Wallonia and €6,000 in Flanders. Each of the 16 guides below answers one question, with its official sources and their date.
Buying
Buying a home in Brussels and Belgium: the steps
Buying a home in Brussels follows one path: budget, financing, search, offer or option, sales agreement (compromis), searches and certificates, then the notarial deed. The legal weight comes early: an accepted offer can already bind you, and a sales agreement signed without conditions is final.
Registration duties in Brussels: rates and the abatement
Registration duties (the Belgian sales duty) are the largest purchase cost. In the Brussels-Capital Region the standard rate is 12.5%.
Notary fees in Belgium: what you pay and why
To buy a home in Belgium the sale must be made by a notarial deed, and the notary's fees follow a legal tariff that is the same for all notaries (a royal decree), so they cannot be negotiated.
Offer and sale agreement (compromis) in Belgium
In Belgium you are committed earlier than in many countries. According to notaire.be, an offer binds its author and, if the seller accepts, the sale is concluded.
Checking an estate agent's IPI licence in Belgium
In Belgium, only a professional licensed by the Institut professionnel des agents immobiliers (IPI) may use the title of estate agent. The licence is personal, so check the individual who handles your file, not just the agency.
Financing
Getting a mortgage in Belgium as an expat
Belgian lenders look at the same three things for everyone: whether your income covers the repayments, the value of the home, and how much of the price you fund yourself.
Fixed or variable mortgage rate in Belgium
With a fixed rate your rate is set when you sign and applies for the whole loan.
Deposit and loan-to-value: what Belgian banks expect
The loan-to-value ratio (LTV, "quotité" in French) is the mortgage divided by the value of the property. The National Bank of Belgium (NBB) does not set a legal rule for banks but publishes "prudential expectations" with a 90% LTV reference for an owner-occupied home.
Renting
Renting a home in Brussels: the main-residence lease
In Brussels, housing leases are governed by the Brussels Housing Code, not by federal law.
Rental deposit in Brussels: amount, forms and return
In Brussels, a landlord may ask for a rental deposit (the "garantie locative"), but the Housing Code does not impose one: it exists only if the lease provides for it.
Inventory of fixtures in Brussels: entry and exit
In Brussels, the tenant and the landlord must draw up a detailed, joint entry inventory of fixtures (the "état des lieux"), either before the tenant moves in or during the first month of occupancy.
Registering a lease in Brussels: deadline and platforms
Every housing lease in Brussels must be registered, free of charge, within two months of signing. The duty rests on the landlord, but the tenant may do it too.
Rent indexation in Brussels: formula and EPB rules
In Brussels, a landlord can index the rent once a year, at the earliest on the anniversary of the start of the lease, but only if the lease is registered and the tenant has received a valid EPB energy certificate.
Ending a lease in Brussels: notice and indemnities
In Brussels, a tenant on a nine-year main-residence lease can leave at any time with three months' notice, paying an indemnity of three, two or one month's rent only if leaving in the first, second or third year.
Owning
The EPB energy certificate in Brussels: rent and sale
In Brussels, an EPB certificate (called PEB in French, for "performance énergétique des bâtiments") is required to sell or rent an individual dwelling.
Property tax in Brussels: précompte immobilier explained
The précompte immobilier (property tax, "PRI") is an annual tax on every built or unbuilt property in Brussels, calculated on its indexed cadastral income.