Letting your property yourself in Belgium: the step-by-step guide

Updated 5 October 2026 · 8-minute read

More and more private owners in Belgium let their property themselves, without an estate agent. You save on management fees, but you are then responsible for everything the rental law requires. This guide explains step by step what you need to arrange, and where the rules differ between Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. Useful too if you own a property in Belgium but are new to the Belgian system.

1. Which rental law applies?

In Belgium, residential leases are a regional matter. The rules depend on where the property is located, not on where you or your tenant live.

A garage or parking space let separately from a home does not fall under these residential rules, but under the general law of leases.

2. Choose the right type of lease

• 9-year lease. The standard for a main residence. A lease without a term or of 3 to 9 years also becomes a 9-year lease.
• Short term. At most 3 years, with its own rules for notice and extension.
• Student lease. For a student, with its own use as student housing and its own notice rules.
• Lifelong lease. No end date. The landlord cannot give notice unless the lease expressly allows it; the tenant gives 3 months' notice, without compensation.
• Garage or parking space. Free term, usually with tacit renewal and 1 month's notice.

3. Drawing up the lease

A residential lease must be in writing. In every region it contains at least:

• the identity of all parties: name, address and national register number (or date and place of birth);
• the start date and the term;
• a description of the property and of all rooms let;
• the rent, with service charges stated separately (as an advance or a fixed amount);
• the energy performance certificate (EPC, called EPB in Brussels and Wallonia): label, number and validity;
• the arrangements for the rental deposit and indexation, with the starting index;
• the mandatory annex of the region: the explanatory note in Flanders, the explanatory annex in Brussels and Wallonia.

In Brussels this also includes the reference rent, whether meters are individual or shared, and the tenant's right of first refusal if the property is sold. A general ban on pets is no longer allowed.

In Relento you answer simple questions. The lease is drawn up with the clauses and annexes of the right region, and you and your tenant sign digitally, also on a phone. Relento works in English, French, Dutch and German, for you and your tenant.

4. The rental deposit

The deposit covers damage and unpaid rent at the end of the lease. The maximum depends on the region: 3 months' rent in Flanders, 2 months in Brussels, and in Wallonia 2 months in a blocked account or 3 months as a bank guarantee.

The deposit is held in a blocked account in the tenant's name, or takes the form of a bank guarantee (possibly with the help of the public social welfare centre, OCMW/CPAS). In Flanders a third party can also stand surety. The deposit never goes into your own account. In Brussels you risk a penalty of 10 % a month if you release the deposit late after the end of the lease.

5. The inspection report

At check-in, a detailed inspection report is mandatory, drawn up by landlord and tenant together. Describe every room, record the meter readings and keys, and take photos. It is registered together with the lease.

At move-out you draw up a check-out report and compare the two. Normal wear is not charged to the tenant; damage is. Without a check-in report it is much harder to prove damage. In Brussels a deadline applies to the check-out and you state the EAN codes; in Wallonia the check-out takes place before the keys are returned.

6. Registering the lease

The landlord registers the lease within 2 months of signing, together with the inspection report. For a residential lease this is free, via MyMinfin (MyRent). In Brussels it is done via IRISrent and MyRent. For a garage you have 4 months and pay 0.2 % registration duty.

If you don't register, the tenant of a 9-year or short-term lease can leave without notice and without compensation. In Brussels and Wallonia you may also only index the rent once the lease is registered.

7. Fire insurance

In Flanders, both tenant and landlord must have fire insurance. In Brussels the tenant takes out insurance before moving in and provides proof every year; in Wallonia the tenant provides proof within a month. Ask for that proof and keep it with the lease.

8. Rent follow-up and indexation

Check every month whether the rent has been paid, and send a friendly reminder in good time if it is late. Keep all agreements in writing.

The rent may be indexed once a year, on the anniversary of the lease's entry into force and after a written request to the tenant. The formula is:

new rent = base rent × new index ÷ starting index

You use the health index published by Statbel. The new index is that of the month before the anniversary. The starting index is, in Flanders, that of the month before the entry into force; in Brussels and Wallonia, that of the month before signing. An indexation can go back at most three months before the month of your request.

Example: base rent €950, starting index 127.00, new index 131.20. The new rent is €950 × 131.20 ÷ 127.00 = €981.42.

9. Repairs

As a landlord you are responsible for major repairs and for repairs due to age, wear or force majeure. The tenant bears minor repairs and routine maintenance, such as the yearly service of the boiler. Flanders has an official list of minor repairs. Agree with your tenant how problems are reported, so you can react quickly and keep everything on record.

10. Notice and end of the lease

• 9-year lease: the tenant can always give 3 months' notice. In the first three years, they pay compensation of 3, 2 or 1 month's rent.
• Short term: the tenant gives 3 months' notice and pays compensation (in Flanders 1.5, 1 or 0.5 month depending on the year; in Brussels and Wallonia 1 month).
• Student lease: each region has its own rules, for example when the tenant stops studying.
• Unregistered lease: the tenant can leave without notice or compensation (not for a student lease).

After the check-out report, you settle the deposit: what you keep for damage or outstanding rent, and what goes back to the tenant. Have both parties sign that settlement.

11. What does letting yourself cost?

An estate agency usually charges a percentage of the rent, every month. Letting yourself mostly costs time: drawing up the lease, looking up the rules and following everything up on time.

Relento takes that work off your hands from €8.25 a month (€99 a year for your first 5 properties, €79 a year per 5 extra properties). Your tenants pay nothing.

This guide is a simplified summary of Belgian rental law as of 5 October 2026 and is not legal advice. For a dispute or a special situation, consult a lawyer.