The GuideImmo blog: understanding Belgian property
Guides written to answer one precise question, backed by the official Belgian sources. Those written in English are listed first; the rest are in French.
Written in English
The essentials of buying and owning property in Belgium.
How does buying property in Belgium actually work?
There is no nationality restriction, but the process surprises most newcomers: the offer binds you, the preliminary agreement is already the sale, and the notary works for the transaction rather than for you.
9 min read
What do you actually pay on top of the purchase price?
Registration duties, the notary's statutory fee, disbursements, VAT: what the Belgian « notary fees » really cover, why the bill differs so much between Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, and what banks will not lend you.
8 min read
Can a foreigner get a mortgage in Belgium, and on what terms?
Owning is open to everyone; borrowing is not. Loan-to-value, own funds, residence permits, income earned abroad, outstanding balance insurance: what Belgian lenders actually look at, and how to prepare a file that passes.
10 min read
What is cadastral income and why does it matter?
Belgium taxes property on a notional 1975 rental value called the cadastral income. Where to find yours, how it is set, when it is revised, and the two-month window to contest it.
9 min read
How is the annual Belgian property tax calculated?
Property tax in Belgium is the indexed cadastral income times your municipality's combined rate. The three layers, a worked example, and the reductions most owners never claim.
8 min read
What registration duty will you pay in your Region?
The single biggest line of your Belgian purchase bill. Reduced rates in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, the conditions attached, and the cases where the full rate bites.
9 min read
Topics
Cadastral income & property tax
Understanding cadastral income, its indexation, its revision, the municipal surcharges and the property tax reductions.
See this topic →Energy performance & EPC
The energy performance certificate, renovation obligations, regional grants and the real effect of energy performance on the value of a property.
See this topic →Financing & purchase costs
Registration duties, notary fees, loan-to-value, rates, outstanding balance insurance: the full cost of buying.
See this topic →Checking a company & the life of a business
Crossroads Bank, Official Gazette, annual accounts, social-security debts: assessing how solid a contractor or a partner is.
See this topic →All guides
Topic
Region
Reader
What is cadastral income and what is it for?
Guide in French
Featured · Energy & EPCWhich energy renovation grants still exist in 2026?
Guide in French
Featured · FinancingWhich registration duties apply in your Region?
Guide in French
Featured · CompaniesHow do you check a company before handing it a building site?
Guide in French
What is cadastral income and what is it for?
Belgian cadastral income is the base for the property tax. Where to find it, how it is calculated, when it is revised and when it can be reduced.
Guide in French
Where do you find a property's cadastral income?
Three ways to find a Belgian property's cadastral income: MyMinfin, the property tax assessment notice, or the cadastral extract.
Guide in French
How do you get from cadastral income to the property tax?
Indexation, the basic regional rate, provincial and municipal surcharges: each step of the calculation that produces the amount on your assessment notice.
Guide in French
What is the difference between indexed and non-indexed cadastral income?
Which of the two figures appears on which document, and which one the property tax is actually calculated on.
Guide in French
Can you have your cadastral income reduced?
The grounds for objecting, the deadlines, and the situations where a revision downwards is genuinely possible.
Guide in French
What is an EPC and when is it compulsory?
Period of validity, obligations on sale and on letting, fines and renovation timetables: the EPC in Wallonia, Brussels and Flanders.
Guide in French
Which works genuinely improve the EPC label?
What the certificate actually measures, the order to tackle the works in, where solar panels fit, and the new Walloon EPC of September 2026.
Guide in French
Which energy renovation grants still exist in 2026?
Wallonia closes its grants on 30 September 2026, Brussels no longer has any, Flanders has narrowed its own: the state of play, with official sources.
Guide in French
How do you look up an EPC online, Region by Region?
Wallonia, Brussels, Flanders: which register to consult, with which number, and what to do when a property's EPC cannot be found.
Guide in French
How do you check a company before handing it a building site?
Crossroads Bank, Official Gazette, annual accounts, access to the trade, ten-year liability insurance: the checks to run on a Belgian contractor before signing.
Guide in French
How do you read a Belgian company's annual accounts?
Where to find the accounts free of charge, which line items to look at first, what an abridged format hides, and the signals that should stop you signing.
Guide in French
What do you do if your contractor goes bankrupt mid-works?
Formal notice to the trustee, filing your claim in RegSol, where a private client ranks among creditors, and the protections to put in place beforehand.
Guide in French
Which registration duties apply in your Region?
3 % in Wallonia, 2 % in Flanders, 12.5 % with an abatement in Brussels: the duties due on a purchase, conditions and special cases included.
Guide in French
How much are the notary fees on buying a house?
Registration duties, the statutory fee, administrative costs, the loan deed: what notary fees actually cover on a purchase, with concrete figures.
Guide in French
How much of your own money do you need to buy in Belgium?
Loan-to-value, minimum own funds, the costs you pay out of pocket: what Belgian banks really expect from a buyer, and how to work out your figure.
Guide in French