Belgium Property Ownership

Property deeds and ownership information can be accessed through property and mortgage registries.

Belgium Trade Associations

Confédération des Immobiliers de Belgique (CIB)
Derbystraat, 241
Gent
B-9051
Belgium

Phone : +32 9 22 20 622
Fax : +32 9 22 22 895
W-mail : hilde.lippens@vivo.be
Website : www.cib.be

The Belgian Real Estate Confederation CIB has around 1600 members. It is a professional body whose mission is to bring together real estate professionals from the following real estate sectors : brokerage, management and valuation. It offers services such as further education seminars and courses, real estate publications and consultancy and also organizes study groups to address particular issues.

Belgium Land Rights

Real property can be held in fee simple in Belgium or can be leased. However, there is strict control over the
use of private property through zoning. In absence of matrimonial agreement to contrary, community property comes into being upon marriage. Under legal community rules, each spouse retains ownership of property owned at time of marriage or acquired during marriage by inheritance or gift.

Belgium Forms of Ownership

Foreign investors are free to own real property through any business entity recognized under Belgian law.
Corporations (société anonymes), limited liability companies (société privées à responsabilité limitée, general
partnerships (société en nom collectif), and joint ventures can be used to acquire hold and convey real
property in Belgium.

Trusts cannot be established under Belgian law because the law is based on the Civil Code concept, which
does not define that term. Foreign trusts, however are recognized.

Belgium Real Estate Info Summary

Title & Contracts in Belgium:

Real property is transferred by deed in Belgium. Deeds must be registered.

Land titles and encumbrances on land, including mortgages must be recorded in the mortgage registry. Security of title is achieved by tracing the register for 30 years of undisputed ownership.

Written contracts are usually made privately, but must be attested by a notary to become public deeds. A private written contract must be made in as many copies as there are parties to the agreement having separate interests, and number of copies must be mentioned at the foot of the contract. Witnesses to signatures are not required for private contracts.

Legal contracts can be registered for a small fee, and such registration provides constructive notice of the
agreement. Registration duty is payable on contracts for real property.

If the sale price of real estate represents less then five-twelfths of true value, the seller may, under certain
circumstances, within two years rescind sale.

Land titles and encumbrances on land are recorded in a Mortgage Registry.

Security of title is achieved by tracing the registry 30 years for undisputed possession by present owner and predecessors.

Property Taxes:

Ad valorem: Owners of real estate located in Belgium pay real estate taxes on the value of their property. The rate depends on the location and use of the property. National rates vary from 1.25% to 2.5%, and municipal and provincial surcharges also apply. Value is determined as the standard rental value and properties are reassessed only every 15 years.

Capital Gains Tax: Capital gains from the sale of real property are taxed at the rate of 34% if the sale takes place within five years of acquisition. If the sale takes place more than five, but less than eight, years, capital gains are taxed at a 17% rate.

There are no capital gains taxes levied on real property held for more than eight years.

Closing will involve buyer, seller, legal representation for both parties, lending institutions, surveyors, and solicitor.

Land Use & Control:

Strict land use planning and control over private property keeps demand high and supply low in the central business district of Brussels.

Belgium Mortgages & Financing

Real property can be mortgaged in Belgium. Mortgages are of three types: legal, by will, or by agreement, and the denominating principle is that of publicity. Mortgages may only be granted on real property. Mortgages must be created by a notarial instrument and they must be recorded at office of the registrar in the municipality where the real property is situated.

Loans can be provided by banker, insurance company, credit broker, or social security loans.

In the past, banks and insurance companies proposed a completely different way of financing a property purchase: a bank loan to be repaid on a monthly basis or credit by reconstitution of capital via long-term savings.

The recent concept of "bank insurance" means that your banker will offer one or the other option.

• Bank loan: the bank will lend you a certain amount, which will need to be repaid on a monthly basis. This is made up of capital and interest. As the repayment progresses, the "capital" part increases whilst the "interest" part decreases. This concept is important in the event of early repayment of the outstanding balance. This type of loan is generally accompanied by insurance of the outstanding balance in the event of death (previously essential to benefit from the tax advantages);

• Credit by reconstitution of capital : your obligation to constitute capital is matched by the advance of the total sum by the company, which serves to finance your home. This saving is accompanied by interest on the advance made. This method does not, of course, require any insurance of the remaining balance as the life insurance on which it is based is used to repay the credit in the event of death.
Getting back to the bank loans, we must remember that it is also possible to agree a periodical repayment of capital with interest calculated on the outstanding balance. Whilst interesting towards the end, this process is however very costly at the outset when most of the capital still needs to be repaid.

It is not, however, essential to turn to a bank or an insurance company to finance the purchase of your house: according to certain criteria, you will have the possibility of obtaining a loan at a reduced rate from organisations such as the "Fonds du logement" (see address book). You must, nevertheless, bear in mind certain restrictions linked to this type of loan: it is forbidden to rent your property, you will require the organisation's authorisation for a future sale, etc.