Service charges: provision or flat fee?

Rent and charges are two different things

A lease states a rent and charges. The two amounts do not follow the same rules: rent is indexed once a year against the health index; charges track real costs. Confusing them is the source of nearly every misunderstanding.

The lease must state clearly whether charges are billed as a provision or as a flat fee, and set out what they cover. A clause reading "charges: EUR 150" with nothing further is an invitation to conflict.

Provision: pay in advance, reconcile later

How it works

The tenant pays an estimated sum each month — an advance. Once a year, the landlord draws up a reconciliation statement: he adds up the costs actually borne on the tenant's behalf, compares them with the provisions paid, and the balance is settled one way or the other.

• Provisions higher than actual costs → the landlord refunds the difference.
• Actual costs higher than provisions → the tenant tops up.

What the statement must contain

A statement is not a number at the bottom of a letter. It must let the tenant verify:

• the breakdown item by item (water, common-area electricity, collective heating, maintenance, lift…);
• the period covered;
• the allocation key applied (shares, floor area, number of occupants, meter readings);
• the total of provisions paid and the balance.

The right to demand supporting documents

The tenant may ask for the evidence behind the statement: invoices, meter readings, the managing agent's statement for an apartment in co-ownership. That right is not a favour — it is the logical counterpart of the provision system. A landlord who refuses to produce his documents is, in practice, a landlord who will not be able to claim the balance.

Formally: written request, then formal notice by registered letter if silence persists, then the justice of the peace, the natural judge for any tenancy dispute. And do not wait: periodic debts become time-barred, and a statement produced years after the fact is fragile.

Flat fee: a fixed amount, full stop

How it works

The tenant pays an agreed, unchanging amount, with no annual reconciliation. No settlement, no refund, no top-up. It is simple — that is its only virtue.

The two risks, facing each other

• The landlord's risk: the flat fee is too low. Energy costs rise and he pays the difference out of pocket. A flat fee is not recalculated mid-course just because it turned out expensive.
• The tenant's risk: the flat fee is too high. He pays every month for consumption he does not have, and he has no refund mechanism — and no receipts to demand, since there is nothing to justify.

The safety valve: conversion

A flat fee is not a prison. As a rule, either party may ask the justice of the peace to convert flat-rate charges into actual charges, or to revise the flat fee when it manifestly no longer matches the costs. The procedure before the justice of the peace is accessible and inexpensive.

Our view, plainly

The provision is fairer; the flat fee is simpler. The provision makes the tenant pay what he actually consumes, and encourages him to consume less. The flat fee rewards nothing and penalises someone — sometimes one party, sometimes the other. It is genuinely defensible in only two cases: very small charges (a student room with a modest, transparent flat fee), or a situation where individual metering is technically impossible.

Who pays what?

The dividing line fits in one sentence: the tenant pays what flows from his use of the dwelling; the owner pays what flows from his ownership of the property.

Typically borne by the tenant (through charges or a direct supply contract): water, electricity, gas, heating, day-to-day upkeep, cleaning and lighting of common areas, lift maintenance, the annual boiler service, waste collection, and the share of caretaker costs corresponding to maintenance.

Always borne by the owner: major works and major maintenance (roof, façade, window frames, replacing the boiler), the building insurance, co-ownership costs relating to capital (reserve fund, works voted at the general meeting), and the managing agent's fees for the part concerning ownership.

Property tax (précompte immobilier) may not be passed on to the tenant of a main-residence lease — regional legislation prohibits it. A clause providing otherwise should be set aside; check your Region's text for the exact wording.

Finally, note: the precise allocation and the lists of recoverable charges are set by the regional texts (Brussels, Wallonia, Flanders). Do not copy a generic "Belgian" list found online.

Individual meters settle half the disputes

Whenever technically possible, insist on individual meters (water, gas, electricity) and a supply contract in the tenant's name. Immediate benefits:

• the tenant pays exactly his consumption, with no contestable allocation key;
• the landlord advances nothing and reconciles nothing;
• there is no more argument about "who heated how much".

In a building with collective heating, heat cost allocators fitted to the radiators do the same job — imperfectly, but usefully.

And in every case: record the meter readings on entry and on exit, in the inspection report, with photos. A reading forgotten on entry always costs more than the time it would have taken.

The habit that prevents everything

Before signing, ask the landlord three questions:

What Domilinko does

Domilinko requires every listing to state the rent and the charges, with their nature — so before you even apply, you can see whether you are dealing with a provision or a flat fee. The platform's joint inspection report includes meter readings, photographed and signed by both parties: the basis of any indisputable statement. Timestamped messaging keeps a written trace of requests for supporting documents.

However, Domilinko does not collect the rent or the charges under a lease and does not draw up statements for you: the financial relationship stays directly between landlord and tenant.