Brussels rental contracts have to be registered twice from January

New lease contracts in Brussels will have to be registered twice from January 2025, pending a ruling by the constitutional court. The federation of French-speaking estate agents, Federia, has already condemned the "Kafkaesque" paperwork situation, wh

By: xpats.com

Dec 17 2024
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Brussels rental contracts have

New lease contracts in Brussels will have to be registered twice from January 2025, pending a ruling by the constitutional court.

The federation of French-speaking estate agents, Federia, has already condemned the "Kafkaesque" paperwork situation, which stems from the lack of resolution to a disagreement between the Brussels region and the federal government.

“This is the height of administrative absurdity,” Federia said. “In the property sector alone, at least 11,000 leases will soon have to be registered twice.”

A reform was approved in April allowing Brussels tenants to register their lease in a database managed by the Brussels region, but the registration obligation also exists at the federal level.

According to outgoing Brussels secretary of state for housing Nawal Ben Hamou (PS), the region has jurisdiction in the matter, and the ordinance excludes leases covered by the Brussels Housing Code from the federal registration requirement. But the federal government disagrees.

The Council of Ministers has lodged an annulment appeal with the constitutional court, specifically targeting the articles of the Brussels ordinance that in a way "cancel out" the federal obligation to register leases.

The constitutional court received the appeal in July and has not yet set a date for a hearing or a ruling.

As a result, there is "no choice but to proceed with a double registration" from January onwards, since Federia said failure to comply with the obligation is punishable by sanctions to both sides.

The federation is calling on the authorities to act to resolve the matter quickly.

“It is all the more regrettable that the two levels of government are really only concerned with one thing: collecting data on leases,” said general director Charlotte De Thaye, adding that the situation shows a “total lack of respect” for citizens.