Brussels tenants will be given the first opportunity to buy the home they are renting if it is put up for sale by their landlord from 1 January 2024.
More than 60% of Brussels residents rent the home they live in, more than double the number compared to Flanders. This is largely because buying a home remains a challenge for most of the capital's residents, as the number of affordable homes in the region is scarce, and there is a lot of competition.
Earlier this year, the Brussels Parliament approved an ordinance, proposed by State Secretary for Housing Nawal Ben Hamou, as a means of protecting renters. It gives tenants whose property is put up for sale the first chance to buy the property themselves.
"A house often means more than just a roof over one's head. It is a home. You raise your children there, you build your life there," said Vooruit.brussels MP Fouad Ahidar at the time of the law being passed.
A similar mechanism has existed in France since 1989. It is hoped this new law will help Brussels' renters get onto the property ladder by making it easier to acquire a house or flat.
"By giving people who have lived in a house for years the chance to buy over their rental property when it is sold, you give them that extra push they often need to become owners."
Who is eligible?
The rule would only apply to unfurnished properties when the tenants have signed a long-term lease and if the property is their main place of residence. Tenants would also need to be domiciled in the house or flat for the measure to apply.
This means people who have signed short-term leases (three years or less), who sublet, who share with housemates or live in a student housing lease will not be given the preferential right.
It also doesn't apply to sales between members of the same family or to homes located in a pre-purchase area and where the government uses its pre-purchase right.
How does it work?
The owner of a property must give the tenant(s) prior notice of the decision to sell the home, stating the price and terms of the planned sale. Tenants will then have 30 days to either accept or decline the sale offer.
If the property is later offered to another buyer at a more favourable price or terms, the tenant will still have six days to exercise his preferential right.
If the person selling the property does not ask the tenant whether they want to purchase the property first, the aggrieved tenant has one year to cancel the sale and buy the property in question themselves.
Notaries and estate agents are obliged to check the owner's compliance with these new rules, but owners can also hold liable the notary and/or estate agent who fails in their duty to advise them to do so.
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"This is just one of the measures through which the government wants to make living in the city affordable. This ordinance not only proposes a humane approach but also confirms our principle that houses are first and foremost for living in and not for profit," Ahidar said.
The new law will also prevent a rental property from being sold to the highest bidder without their knowledge and also obliges owners to deal with their tenants fairly and transparently.
The draft ordinance was first approved by Brussels Parliament's Housing Committee in July. The opposition was highly critical of the draft and at the time already posed many questions about it, with MR and N-VA voting against it because they believed it would distort the market and would not ensure more affordable and quality housing in practice.
