Renovating a property in Brussels: a guide for expats

If you have bought an older home in Brussels – a nineteenth-century maison de maître, a bel-étage townhouse, a flat in an Art Deco block – there will come a point when it needs work. Renovating a property in Brussels follows rules and habits that often surprise newcomers: the commune decides on permits, an architect is compulsory for many structural changes, co-owners vote on works affecting the building, and most of the paperwork is in French or Dutch.

This guide walks you through how a renovation usually unfolds, who does what, and how to stay in control of the project, even if you travel a lot or live abroad while the work is under way.

How a renovation project usually unfolds in Brussels

1. Assess the property. Survey the structure, roof, damp, electrics and heating, and check whether past alterations were properly authorised.
2. Define the scope and the budget. Decide what you want and what the building needs, and keep a contingency for the surprises that appear once walls and floors are opened up.
3. Settle the permit question. Find out whether your works need planning permission and, if so, appoint an architect.
4. Get comparable quotes. Ask contractors to price the same description of works, item by item.
5. Prepare the site. Co-owners’ approval for a flat, a condition survey of neighbouring properties before structural work, and the commune’s permission for a skip or scaffolding on the street.
6. Carry out the works in a logical order. Structure, roof and windows, building services, plastering and screeds, then finishes.
7. Hand over. A formal acceptance visit (réception) closes the job; on larger projects it often takes place in two stages, provisional and then final.

Planning permission: why the commune matters

In Brussels, most construction, demolition, alteration and change-of-use works need planning permission, the permis d’urbanisme. As the Region’s official guidance on building permits explains, permission is granted by your municipality or, in some cases, by the Region. Each of the 19 communes has an urban planning department (service de l’urbanisme) that can tell you what applies to your property.

Purely interior works that do not affect the structure, the volume, the façade visible from the street or the number of dwellings are often exempt. Opening up a load-bearing wall, adding a staircase opening, building an extension or a roof terrace, or changing the look of the street façade generally are not. Two points regularly catch newcomers out:

• The “legal situation” is what counts. The reference is what the commune has on file, not necessarily what you bought. If previous owners made unauthorised changes, these may need to be regularised before or alongside your project.
• Heritage adds steps. Brussels has a large stock of protected and inventoried buildings. If yours is one of them, expect additional advice and a longer procedure. Our page on renovating a maison de maître (in French) covers these issues.

If the property lies just outside the Region – in Kraainem, Wezembeek-Oppem, Tervuren, Zaventem, Dilbeek or Rhode-Saint-Genèse in Flanders, or in Waterloo in Wallonia – Flemish or Walloon planning rules apply instead, with their own procedures and portals.

Architect, engineer, contractor: who does what

Belgium separates design from construction. According to the Region’s page on architects and contractors, an architect is mandatory for construction or renovation projects that require planning permission, apart from certain minor works, and leaving one out where it is required can expose you to legal action. Your commune’s urban planning department can confirm which category your project falls into.

The architect designs the project, prepares and defends the permit application, writes the specifications, helps you choose a contractor and supervises the works. Where load-bearing elements are involved – removing a wall, reinforcing a floor, underpinning foundations – a structural engineer calculates the beams and supports, usually in liaison with the architect. Depending on the works, an EPB (energy performance) adviser and a health and safety coordinator may also be required.

The contractor then builds what has been designed, following the plans, the specifications and good building practice. A general contractor gives you one contract and one point of contact for all the trades; hiring trades separately means coordinating them yourself, which is hard to do from a distance.

Flats: the co-owners have their say

If you own a flat, the building is run as a co-ownership (copropriété), managed day to day by a managing agent (syndic). The deed of division (acte de base) and the building’s rules define what is private and what is common. Works that touch the common parts – façades, roof, structure, shared risers and, in many buildings, the windows – need the co-owners’ approval, normally through a vote at the general meeting, and the majority required depends on the type of works.

Practical constraints matter just as much: use of the lift, protection of the stairwell, permitted working hours, noise, removal of rubble. Speak to the syndic early, before you finalise plans or sign a quote. Our article on renovating a flat in a co-ownership (in French) lists the checks to make.

Energy performance: the EPB certificate and the 2033 target

A home that is sold or let in Brussels needs an EPB certificate (certificat PEB). According to Bruxelles Environnement (page in French), it is drawn up by an approved certifier, remains valid for ten years, and shows the energy class, a recommended renovation scenario and suggested works. The regulations provide for it to be extended to all homes, including owner-occupied ones.

The same page sets out the Region’s targets: by 2033, every home should reach at least “PEB 275”, meaning a primary energy consumption of no more than 275 kWh per m² per year, with a tighter target of 150 kWh/m² per year by 2045. If you are renovating now, plan the works with these targets in mind – damp, roof insulation, windows and ventilation first, heating second – rather than having to redo them later.

Grants and VAT: don’t count on Renolution for now

Brussels’ renovation grant scheme, RENOLUTION, brought together the former energy, renovation and façade grants in 2022. The Region’s renovation support page is clear about where things stand: no government decision has yet been taken on any RENOLUTION grants for 2025 or 2026. Check the situation before you finalise your budget, and do not build a financing plan around a grant that may not exist.

Other forms of support may still apply, subject to conditions:

• grants offered by some communes, which vary from one municipality to the next;
• the ECORENO loan from the Fonds du Logement, for renovation and energy-efficiency works on Brussels homes;
• the reduced 6% VAT rate on renovation works for homes more than ten years old used mainly as a private residence, when the works are invoiced directly to the occupier. Our guide to comparing renovation quotes (in French) explains the conditions.

For independent advice, Homegrade, the Region’s housing advice centre, offers personalised guidance at no cost to households, including help with techniques, quotes, procedures and grants.

Choosing a contractor when you can’t be on site every day

• Check the company. Look up its company number in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE); the public search has an English interface and shows legal status, registered activities and address.
• Insist on an itemised quote. Each item with a quantity, a unit and a price, materials identified by brand and range, exclusions written down.
• Clarify VAT. The quote should state the rate applied and the reason for it.
• Agree a payment schedule linked to progress. Be wary of a large deposit, and never pay most of the price before work has actually started.
• Ask for insurance certificates before work begins, particularly where an architect is involved.
• Ask who will actually do the work and who coordinates the different trades.
• Put everything in writing, including any extras agreed during the works.

Staying in control from a distance

Following a renovation from abroad – or from an office across town – is entirely feasible if the project is organised for it:

• One point of contact who answers for the whole site and all the trades.
• A written schedule, updated whenever things change.
• Regular reports with photos, so that you can see progress, including work that will be hidden once walls and floors are closed.
• A decision log: finishes to choose, the dates by which they must be chosen, approvals given.
• Written approval of every extra, with its price, before it is carried out.
• Visits at key moments: after strip-out, before walls and ceilings are closed, before tiling, and at handover. If you cannot attend, appoint someone you trust.
• Practicalities sorted early: keys, access, parking, the syndic and the neighbours.

This is how we work at Maison de Maître: a single point of contact, an itemised quote, a written schedule, regular photo updates and messages, and a formal handover at the end. We deliberately take on a limited number of projects, so that each one is followed closely.

Language: a short glossary for your renovation

Brussels is officially bilingual, so permit files, co-ownership minutes and certificates will be in French or Dutch. These are the terms you are most likely to come across:

French term	What it means
permis d’urbanisme	Planning permission
service de l’urbanisme	The commune’s urban planning department
situation de droit	The legally authorised situation on file at the commune
syndic / assemblée générale	Managing agent / general meeting of co-owners
acte de base	Deed of division of a co-ownership
certificat PEB	Energy performance (EPB) certificate
gros œuvre	Structural work, the shell of the building
châssis	Window frames
plafonnage / chape	Plastering / screed
cahier des charges / métré	Specification / bill of quantities
état des lieux	Condition survey
réception provisoire / définitive	Provisional / final acceptance of the works

Starting your project with us

We work across the 19 Brussels communes and nearby municipalities such as Kraainem, Tervuren and Waterloo (see our areas served, in French). Our English page gives an overview of how we work, and you can write to us in English through the contact page. When you are ready, describe your project using our quote request form; it is in French, but you are welcome to fill it in in English. The first conversation is without commitment, and we usually reply within 48 working hours.

Frequently asked questions