Rental guarantee
without a bank deposit
1 – You complete the form and accept the terms of our rental guarantee
2 – We validate your file within a few hours if you have provided all the information required.
3 – We automatically send the guarantee certificate to the landlord to cover your rental guarantee
HOW IT WORKS
The tenant applies for rental guarantee online. The landlord receives the guarantee certificate the same day.
What is a rental guarantee?
The rental guarantee is a guarantee provided by a tenant for the benefit of his landlord under the terms of the rental agreement they sign together. This security enables the landlord to guarantee himself in the event of the tenant failing to meet one of his obligations under the lease contract.
The rental guarantee can take several forms, as described below. We also explain how it works, and the maximum amount that can be claimed, depending on the region.
You can obtain your rental guarantee very easily. There are several types of guarantee that tenants can request online. The most attractive offer is the guarantor formula we propose on our site, which saves you the hassle of blocking funds in a bank account.
What types of rental guarantee are available?
In Belgium, there are five ways to set up a rental guarantee. Each type of rental guarantee has its own characteristics:
- Blocked bank account : The tenant pays the deposit into a blocked account that can only be accessed at the end of the lease or by court order.
- Bank guarantee : The bank acts as guarantor for the tenant, who must gradually replenish the deposit over a maximum period of 3 years.
- Bank guarantee via the PCSW : The CPAS helps tenants without sufficient resources to obtain a bank guarantee by acting as guarantor.
- korfine rental guarantee : The tenant takes out a life insurance policy in which the funds paid for the deposit earn interest until the end of the lease.
- Rental surety : A family member or financial institution acts as guarantor for an annual premium without tying up funds.
More detailed information on the different types of rental guarantee in Belgium
How does rental guarantee work?
The rental guarantee works in several stages. The process is detailed as follows:
Constitution of the warranty
The tenant must first set up a rental guarantee. There are several ways of doing this, the main ones being :
- Make a security deposit in a blocked bank account
- Obtain a bank guarantee bank guarantee
- Obtaining a rental deposit from a guarantor
- Make a rental deposit
The amount of the guarantee required by the landlord is limited by law in Belgium. The housing code of each of the 3 administrative regions defines the legal limit on the amount payable for the rental guarantee.
Warranty certificate
Once the guarantee has been set up, the establishment that establishes the existence of the rental guarantee produces a rental guarantee certificate, which is sent to the lessor of the rental property. This guarantee certificate certifies to the landlord that the tenant has set up rental guarantee before signing the lease.
Use of the rental guarantee
Blocked or bonded funds are used to cover financial commitments under the lease that the tenant has not honored. To obtain the funds or the bond, the lessor must first take legal action against the lessee and enforce the judgment obtained.
Release from rental deposit
The freezing of funds or surety commitments terminate at the end of the rental agreement. When the lease has expired and the lessor has no claim for unpaid sums, the release of the rental guarantee can be released.
How much is rental guarantee?
The federal rules laid down in the Rent Act have been replaced at regional level in Belgium by specific legislation. In 2018 for Brussels and Wallonia, and in 2019 for Flanders, each region has defined its own rules for residential leases, and therefore for the amount of the rental guarantee.
The maximum amount legally authorized for rental guarantees varies according to the type of guarantee and also according to the 3 regions in Belgium:
- In the case of a simple bank guarantee or a bank guarantee facilitated by the CPAS, the amount of the guarantee provided is 3 months’ rent for the rented property, regardless of the region of Belgium where the property is located.
- In the case of a guarantee on a blocked account :
- For a rental guarantee in Brussels the amount payable by the lessor must not exceed 2 months’ rent;
- For a rental guarantee in Wallonia the maximum amount is also 2 months’ rent;
- For a rental guarantee in Flanders on a blocked account, the lessor can demand up to 3 months’ rent since January 1, 2020.
What does rental guarantee cover?
The commitments of the tenant covered by the rental guarantee are defined in the lease contract between the tenant and the landlord. The lease contract can be drafted in a number of ways, and may stipulate that :
The warranty covers all obligations
If the lease contract states that the rental guarantee covers“all the obligations” of the tenant, then all the commitments of the lease contract are covered by the guarantee. The lessor can use the guarantee to finance :
- Unpaid rent
- The rental charges unpaid
- Rental damage
- Any other unfulfilled financial commitment.
The rental guarantee is limited to rental damage
In some cases, the lease contract may limit the scope of the guarantee to rental damage only. The deposit provided by the tenant may therefore only be called upon to protect the lessor of the rented property against any damage caused by the tenant during the term of the lease. In this way, the lessor ensures that the lessee will be able to pay when damage to the rented property needs to be repaired.
In this case, the lessor will not be able to use the guarantee for non-payment of rent.
How long does it take to obtain a rental guarantee?
The time required to set up a rental guarantee in Belgium depends on the type of guarantee chosen. See our article on deadline for obtaining a rental guarantee for detailed information.
The time it takes to obtain a rental guarantee in Belgium varies greatly depending on the type chosen: from a few hours for an online solution such as Garantie.be to several weeks for a traditional bank guarantee.
To obtain a rental guarantee in just a few hours, click on online form rental guarantee .
When is the rental guarantee payment due?
The rental guarantee is one of the mandatory documents to be provided when signing a lease for a property. It is customary to provide the rental guarantee certificate before signing the lease, together with home insurance commonly referred to in Belgium as fire insurance.
If the rental guarantee consists of the payment of the sum into a blocked blocked bank accountbank account, the transfer must be made several days before the planned date of signature of the lease contract. This time will allow the bank to confirm that the amount has arrived on the blocked account and to issue the rental guarantee. The bank will then send the guarantee certificate to the lessor by post and/or e-mail.
What assistance is available for setting up rental guarantee?
There are several types of assistance available in Belgium to make it easier to obtain a rental guarantee. These grants are reserved for people with insufficient financial resources.
Assistance is available at regional level in Belgium. Visit assistance from the Brussels-Capital region are mainly offered by the Fonds du Logement and the Fonds Brugal.
Early release from rental guarantee
It is now possible to obtain early release of blocked funds through rental guarantee. To find out more about this new opportunity, please consult our page on release of rental guarantee.
Find out more about our range of services and how you can get your money back from the bank. If you are at the end of your lease, the guarantee will be released on production of inventory of fixtures.
Obtaining a guarantor as a self-employed worker
On garantie.be it is possible to obtain a financial guarantor as a self-employed person. The process of checking the applicant’s file at rental guarantee is not restricted according to the tenant’s professional status. Self-employed people can obtain a guarantee contract from rental guarantee in just a few clicks.
