The main-residence lease in Belgium: terms, regimes and termination

Rental law is regional: the first question is not "which lease?" but "which Region?"

Since the sixth reform of the State, residential tenancy law is no longer federal. Each of the three Regions has written its own text:

• Brussels-Capital: ordinance of 27 July 2017, applicable to leases concluded from 1 January 2018;
• Wallonia: decree of 15 March 2018 on residential leases, applicable from 1 September 2018;
• Flanders: the Flemish Residential Tenancy Decree (Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet) of 9 November 2018, applicable from 1 January 2019.

All three descend from the same ancestor — the old federal act of 20 February 1991 — and look very much alike. But they diverge exactly where money is at stake: the landlord's ability to terminate without cause, the indemnity owed by a tenant who breaks a short lease early, the conditions for indexation, the deposit regime. So never look for "the" Belgian rule: look for your Region's rule, and check the signature date too, because a lease predating the entry into force of the regional text remains, in principle, under the old rules.

The nine-year lease: the default regime

Duration

Unless validly agreed otherwise, a main-residence lease is deemed concluded for nine years. At term, it does not simply stop: unless notice is served at least six months before the end, it is tacitly renewed on the same terms, for three-year periods, indefinitely. Many landlords discover that renewal far too late.

The tenant may leave at any time

This is the deliberate imbalance of the nine-year lease: the tenant may end it at any time, with three months' notice, without giving a reason. The price of that freedom is an indemnity if he leaves during the first three years: as a rule, three months' rent in year one, two months in year two, one month in year three. After the third anniversary, three months' notice is enough, with no indemnity.

The landlord needs grounds — or pays

• Personal occupation: at any time, with six months' notice, to occupy the property himself or have it occupied by a relative listed in the regional text (spouse, descendants, ascendants…). The exact circle of beneficiaries and the deadline by which occupation must become effective are not identical across the three Regions.
• Major works: at the end of the first or second three-year period, with six months' notice, for reconstruction or renovation work of a certain scale.
• Without cause, against an indemnity: at the end of a three-year period, with six months' notice, against a substantial indemnity (traditionally nine months' rent at the end of the third year, six months at the end of the sixth). Careful: this option does not exist everywhere in the same terms — the Flemish legislator revised it, and the parties may exclude it by contract. Do not rely on it without reading the text in force in your Region.

Notice given for personal occupation that is not actually followed through is expensive: the landlord faces a heavy indemnity (traditionally set at eighteen months' rent), barring exceptional circumstances. The ground must be genuine — and it must materialise.

Counter-notice

Where it is the landlord who gives notice, a tenant who finds another home earlier may generally leave with one month's notice, without indemnity. He does not have to sit out a notice period he did not trigger.

The short lease (three years or less)

What defines it

Its term is three years or less, it must be in writing, and it ends at its term, provided written notice is served at least three months before expiry, by either party.

That is where the trap lies: nobody serves notice, the tenant stays, and the lease automatically becomes a nine-year lease, deemed to have started on the short lease's commencement date, at the same rent. This is by far the most common accident in practice. Set a reminder four months before expiry.

Extension

A short lease may be extended in writing, on the same terms, provided the total duration does not exceed three years. The number of permitted extensions varies by Region: exceeding that frame — in number or in cumulative duration — flips the whole thing into a nine-year lease.

Early exit: here the Regions clearly diverge

Under the old federal act, a short lease could in principle not be broken before term. All three Regions have opened that door, but each in its own way:

• Brussels: the tenant may end the short lease at any time, with three months' notice and a break indemnity;
• Wallonia: early exit by the tenant is likewise organised, with notice and an indemnity;
• Flanders: early exit is allowed, with three months' notice and a degressive indemnity depending on the year in progress.

The exact amounts and conditions do not copy across from one Region to another. Before calculating anything, read your lease clause and the regional text (Bruxelles Logement, SPW Logement, Wonen in Vlaanderen).

Mandatory content

A written lease is compulsory. It must contain at least:

• the full identity of the parties;
• a precise description of the property;
• the commencement date and the duration;
• the rent, and how charges are billed (flat fee or provision);
• the explanatory annex required by the Region, where applicable.

To which is added, depending on the Region: the energy performance certificate (EPC/PEB) — mandatory, and its data must already appear in the advertisement —, the entry inspection report, drawn up jointly and annexed to the lease, meter readings, and a mention of the deposit and its form.

Finally: register the lease. It is free, it is the landlord's obligation, and an unregistered lease mainly weakens… the landlord.

In practice

What Domilinko does — and does not do

Domilinko connects landlords and tenants: moderated listings, a reusable tenant file, an application that freezes a snapshot of that file, timestamped messaging, a joint inspection report (photos, meter readings, signatures) and a traced key handover. For long-term rentals, the platform does not collect the rent: it offers no rent-default insurance, no payment guarantee and no delegated property management, and the rental deposit is constituted off-platform, on a blocked account. The lease remains a contract between landlord and tenant.