What You Should Know About Rental Agreements in Belgium

Once you have found a place in Belgium to rent out to live in you will need to sign a rental agreement or rental contract. The rental contact will detail what is expected of both you and the landlord during the agreed upon rental term. It is important that you read through the rental agreement completely before signing it. It is typical that the rental agreement will be in the official language of the country but you are entitled to a copy of it in your native language. However the one that is in the official language of the country is the one that you will have to sign and that is legally binding. For this reason it is a good idea to retain the services of a local lawyer that is familiar with dealing with rental agreements and have that person look over the rental agreement for you before you sign it.

The rental agreement will give the physical location of the place that you are renting and will detail any additional privileges that you are entitled to on the property. This could include a parking space, access to a laundry room or rooftop garden, storage facilities and more. The rental agreement will also state the status of the place that you are renting in regards to equipped, semi-equipped, and so on. It will also detail what items are already in the apartment, such as a refrigerator or microwave and so on.

Your rental agreement will list the agreed upon monthly rent, as well as the date it is to be paid and how you are to pay it. Some landlords want to get a bank draft set up for each month. The contract will also detail the penalties for late payments. If there are to be any annual rent increases, that schedule will be listed in the rental agreement.

The amount of your required deposit will be listed in the rental agreement. It will also detail the conditions for the return of your deposit. In some instances it can be up to a year before you get back your rental deposit in Belgium. The typical deposit is between one to three months of rent. It is in your best interest to request that it be put in an interest bearing account that is blocked to both of you until an agreed upon date.

Your rental contract will also likely include information on notice periods for vacating and penalties that you might get for breaking the lease early. There will also be information on eviction. Note that Belgium has strong tenant laws and it can take months or years for a landlord to be able to evict you.

The standard rental lease in Belgium is for a period of nine years. It is typically referred to as a 3-6-9 lease as the base rent can only be increased every three years. And you must get a notice about the increase in writing or it cannot be increased.