Housing

Steps

Renting

1. Sign a written lease with the entry inspection report (état des lieux) attached. Brussels and Wallonia publish official model leases.
2. Set up the rental deposit in a blocked account in your name (the interest goes to you), through a bank guarantee built up by monthly instalments, or through the CPAS (public centre for social welfare) (forms provided for in Wallonia; in Flanders: an individualised account, security in rem with a bank, a CPAS guarantee or a personal surety (caution) with the landlord's agreement). In Brussels, it can no longer be paid in cash to the landlord.
3. Carry out the entry inspection jointly, with costs shared, before moving in or during the first month. Without a detailed inspection report, you are presumed to have received the home in the condition in which you return it.
4. Check that the landlord registers the lease (this is their obligation, within 2 months of signing; in Brussels, it is free and done on the IRISrent platform). As long as they have not done so, you can leave without notice or compensation; in Wallonia, a formal notice that has remained without effect for one month is also needed, whereas in Brussels and Flanders the texts read do not require one (in Flanders, your notice takes effect on the 1st day of the following month).
5. To leave, send your notice with 3 months' notice.

Buying

1. Sign a preliminary sales agreement, then the notarial deed at a notary's office, who collects the registration duties for the Region.
2. Ask for your Region's reduced rate if it is your only home and you are going to live in it.
3. Register at your new address with the municipality within the deadline required to keep the benefit (3 years in Wallonia, in Flanders and in Brussels).

Documents

• Valid identity document.
• Proof of income: each Region limits what a landlord can ask you for.
  • Brussels: before the viewing, your name and a way of contacting you; for your application, the amount of your resources (payslip, bank statements or benefits, your employer's identity may be blacked out) and the number of people in the household; to sign, an identity document and your civil status if you are married or legally cohabiting. Nothing else can be required (Bruxelles Logement, January 2025).
  • Wallonia: name, means of communication, address, date of birth or proof of capacity, household composition, civil status if married or legally cohabiting, amount of resources and proof of payment of the last three rents; any other data only for a serious and proportionate reason (decree of 15 March 2018, article 6).
  • Flanders: only the documents needed to check that you can fulfil your obligations as a tenant (Flemish tenancy decree, article 7).
• Written lease, entry inspection report and the legal annex specific to the Region.

Costs and timelines

• Duration: 9 years by default. A short-term lease (3 years at most) is possible; it can be extended in writing without exceeding 3 years in total, twice in Wallonia, only once in Brussels (since 1 November 2024) and in Flanders.
• Tenant's notice (9-year lease): 3 months at any time; compensation of 3, 2 or 1 months' rent if you leave during the 1st, 2nd or 3rd year: same rule in the three Regions (in Flanders, article 20, § 1, of the tenancy decree, version in force on 20/10/2026). In Wallonia, if it is the landlord who has given you notice, you can leave with 1 month's notice, without compensation.
• Tenant's notice (short-term lease, Wallonia): 3 months and 1 month's compensation.
• Rental deposit: 2 months' rent excluding charges at most in Brussels (leases concluded since 1 November 2024, returned within 2 months after you leave) and in Wallonia (since the decree of 19 May 2023); 3 months in Flanders (the Vlaams Woningfonds offers a loan for the deposit to tenants who find it hard to pay: conditions to be requested from the Fund).
• Registration duties on buying your only home:
  • Wallonia: 3% since 1 January 2025 (12.5% otherwise); you must move in within 3 years and stay there 3 years.
  • Flanders: 2% (12% otherwise); additional reduction for a modest home up to €200,000 (€220,000 in the big cities and the Flemish periphery of Brussels).
  • Brussels: 12.5%, but the first €200,000 are exempt if the price (costs included) does not exceed €600,000; you must move in within 3 years and stay there 5 years.
• The notary's fees and deed costs are added (scale not reproduced here, to be requested from the notary).

Common pitfalls

• Leaving in the first three years of a 9-year lease: plan for the compensation of 1 to 3 months' rent.
• Paying the deposit in cash or into the landlord's account. The law provides for a blocked account in your name; in Brussels, cash payment is prohibited.
• Unregistered lease: this is your best lever if you have to leave quickly; in Wallonia, keep proof of your formal notice.
• Losing the reduced rate on purchase by not moving in in time or by leaving too early: you will have to repay the benefit.
• Already owning a home, even abroad. In Wallonia, already owning a home in full ownership, in Belgium or abroad, makes you lose the 3% rate unless you resell it within 3 years (Service public de Wallonie FAQ); in Brussels, the allowance presupposes not already owning a home in full ownership, unless resold within 2 years (Bruxelles Fiscalité).
• Confusing the Regions. The rate and the rules depend on where the home is located, not on your current domicile. The nine German-speaking municipalities are in the province of Liège, so in the Walloon Region (Constitution, article 5): Walloon registration duties apply there.

What changes by country of origin

• EU, EEA, Switzerland: same rights as Belgians to rent and buy; no authorisation specific to foreigners appears on the regional pages consulted.
• British citizens (Scots included): same tenancy and registration duty rules; the condition of registration in the population register for the reduced rate presupposes a right of residence in Belgium.