The cost of renting in Belgium is going up far more than in neighbouring countries, an analysis by the IESEG School of Management has shown.
Tenants in Belgium will hardly be shocked by the news and the IESEG analysis confirmed that between January 2021 and January 2025, rents in the country rose by 18.3%.
"The recent inflationary crisis has had a major impact on tenants in Belgium," said Eric Dor, director of economic studies at IESEG School of Management. "In the past four years, rent increases in Belgium far outstripped those in neighbouring countries."
Actual rentals paid by tenants (index 100 for January 2021). Credit: IESEG
By comparison, rents in France rose by just 6.8% over the same period. In Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands, the cost of renting rose by 7.1%, 8% and 11.5%, respectively.
Recent studies in the various regions reflect these findings. In Brussels, rental prices increased by almost 10% in 2023 and a further 5% in 2024, indicating sustained pressure on the region's rental market, where scarcity drives rents upwards.
What was long an issue confined mainly to Brussels has now also been seen in Flanders as well. In the Dutch-speaking region, the average rental cost for a house surpassed €1,000 per month (+3%) for the first time, while flat prices rose even more sharply (+5%) to an average of €841 per month.
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IESEG noted similar trends in the price for flats and houses. "The average cost of buying a home in Belgium rose by 15.3% during the same period," Dor said.
Brussels remains the outlier when it comes to the cost of houses. The median cost of a house in Brussels rose from €425,000 in 2020 to €500,000 in 2024 (+17%). For flats, the region is much less of an outlier but remains the most expensive. The median price for such a property was €257,000 in 2025 (+€32,000 since 2020).
In France, the increase was more than half that of Belgium, at 6.2%. The difference was even more stark when compared with Germany and Luxembourg, where the cost increased by 0.3% and even dropped by 2.6%, respectively.
Only in the Netherlands was a larger increase recorded. In Belgium's northeastern neighbour, prices rose by 31.3% between January 2021 and the third quarter of 2024.
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When it comes to buying a new build, the price rise was 16.1% in Belgium over this period. In Luxembourg, this cost rose by 4.2%, while in Germany and France, the rise was 7.6% and 8.9%, respectively. Again, costs in the Netherlandsn have risen even more – up by 26.5%.
For properties that are not new, the rise in purchase prices was 15.1% in Belgium. Both Luxembourg (-5.2%) and Germany (-0.9%) recorded lower prices in this category. In France, such homes cost 5.8% on average. The Netherlands again saw the biggest increase (+31.5%).
