Belgium: Guide to Buying Costs and Procedures

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Last Updated: Mar 06, 2007

Total transaction costs are high in Belgium

How high are realtors’ and lawyers’ fees in Belgium? What about other property purchase costs?

Transaction Costs
		Who Pays?
Transfer Duty	10% - 12.5%	buyer
Notary Fees	0.2% - 4%	buyer
Registration Fees	0.2% - 0.6%	buyer
Legal Fees	0.5% - 1% 0.5% - 1%	buyer seller
Agent's Fee	2.5% - 3%	seller
Costs paid by buyer	10.90% - 18.10%
Costs paid by seller	3% - 4%
ROUNDTRIP TRANSACTION COSTS	13.90% - 22.10%
See Footnotes Source: Global Property Guide

How difficult is the property purchase process in Belgium?

There are no foreign ownership restrictions in acquiring Belgian property.

After deciding what property to purchase, the prospective buyer signs an agreement to purchase (compromis de vente or verkoopcompromis). This immediately commits the buyer to purchase the property, given that the seller acts in good faith.

The buyer and the seller are each represented by a legal counsel or notary. There are fixed state-agreed costs for the services of the notary. These costs also vary depending on the property but on the average, it is around 1.6%.

In general, real estate can be acquired by simple agreement. Usually, a binding, private written contract (acte authentique or authentieke) is entered into subsequent to the notarized sales agreement. Such a contract is usually drafted by legal counsel and may contain conditions upon which the validity of the sale is dependent.

At this time, a deposit of usually 10% of the sale price is made, and placed into an escrow account until the notarized deed is issued. After the signing of the notarized deed by both parties, keys will change hands. The sale should then be registered with the official registry within four months of signing the deed, when duties of 12.5% of the sales price become due.

It takes an average of 132 days to complete the two procedures needed to register a property in Belgium.

Footnotes to Transaction Costs Table

The round trip transaction costs include all costs of buying and then re-selling a property – lawyers’ fees, notaries’ fees, registration fees, taxes, agents’ fees, etc.

Transfer Duty:
12.5% of purchase price for Brussels and Wallonia, 10% in Flanders. If building is new, transfer duty applies on land (vs. building) portion of purchase price.

VAT:
VAT applies on new buildings (vs.land) portion of purchase price. New buildings are defined as properties less than two years old. VAT is also applicable for the renovation of old properties. VAT is currently charged at 21%.

Registration Fees:
Registration fees include transcription of the Notary Deed into the Land Registry at €10 per page, excerpts and plans from the register, and other certificates.

Legal Fees:
The buyer and the seller are each represented by a legal counsel or notary.

Notary Fees:
Public notary fees are fixed based on a schedule called Barema J

NOTARY FEES
VALUE OF TRANSACTION (€)	NOTARY FEE (€)
3,000 and below	136.80
15,000	555.75
50,000	1,228.00
75,000	1,451.16
80,000	1,479.66
100,000	1,593.66
125,000	1,736.16
130,000	1,764.66
140,000	1,821.66
150,000	1,878.66
160,000	1,935.66
180,000	2,049.66
200,000	2,163.66
250,000	2,448.66
300,000	2,477.65
330,000	2,494.75
350,000	2,506.15
370,000	2,517.55
375,000	2,520.40
400,000	2,534.65
450,000	2,563.15
500,000	2,591.65
1,000,000	2,876.65
1,500,000	3,161.65
2,000,000 and up	3,446.65

Belgium - more data and information

How landlord-friendly is the law in Belgium?