Lease
real estate
When renting a property, the lessor and the lessee sign a contract specifying the terms and conditions of the lease. This contract between the tenant and the landlord is known as the lease.
What is a rental lease contract?
A lease is a fixed-term real estate rental contract signed between a lessor and a lessee. The lease contract sets out the rules governing the rental of the property. The tenant pays rent to the lessor in exchange for the use of the leased property.
Since 2018, the lease contract has become regional. Each of the three Belgian regions has established its own regional housing code. Each administrative region of Belgium has established its own lease model.
What does the lease contain?
To comply with Belgian federal law on the subject, the lease must contain certain mandatory details. At a minimum, the lease must specify the following points:
- the lessor’s personal details, complete identity and address;
- the tenant’s personal details, i.e. full identity and address;
- the address and detailed description of the property to be rented;
- the start date of the rental period and the duration of the lease;
- the precise amount of the monthly rent and an estimate of the related charges;
- the date of signature of the lease and the signature of all parties to the contract.
All the additional information provided in the lease helps to clarify the contract between the lessor and the lessee.
The rental guarantee is not a compulsory condition of the rental lease, but a paragraph on tenant guarantees can be found in almost all rental leases in Belgium.
How long is a rental lease?
In Belgium, there is no such thing as an open-ended lease. Leases must be for a fixed term. In principle, the law defines a 9-year term for the lease of a principal residence in Belgium.
The law also allows, under certain conditions, a short-term lease (a lease of less than 3 years) or a long-term lease (a lease of more than 9 years) for the lease of a principal residence.
Different types of leases
Principal residence lease
A principal residence lease is a rental agreement covering the tenant’s principal residence. To qualify as a principal residence lease, the lease contract must meet three mandatory conditions:
- The rental contract must be a residential lease. This means that the tenant declares that he/she lives in the rented property;
- The tenant must also declare that this is his or her principal residence. In other words, the tenant lives mainly in this dwelling;
- The lessor agrees to the property’s use as a principal residence.
The fact that it is a lease for a principal residence brings with it a number of protections for the tenant. Belgian law requires the lessor to comply with additional rules concerning the safety, health and habitability of the rented property. Rules governing the duration and extension of principal residence leases are also laid down by law to protect tenants.
Common law lease
Furnished rental lease
Unfurnished lease
How to register a lease
The lease and its annexes are registered with the Federal Public Service of Finance in Belgium. Registration can be done in two ways:
Free rental lease template
If you’re looking for a rental lease example to download, here are some free rental lease examples that comply with the regional housing code.
Model rental lease for Brussels: pdf file to download from the official website logement.brussels.
