Which certificates are required when you sell a house?
When a home is sold in Belgium, the seller needs in every region an energy certificate (EPC or PEB), a soil certificate or soil extract and the planning information, plus an inspection of the electrical installation if it dates from before 1 October 1981. In Flanders an asbestos certificate is added for a building from 2000 or earlier, and the buyer must renovate the home to at least label D within six years. The notary checks the certificates at the deed.
The energy certificate
- Flanders: an EPC from the first advert; the score or label is in the advert, the EPC goes with the deed (Energy Decree, art. 9.2.3).
- Brussels: a valid EPB certificate when the sale agreement is signed; the energy performance is in every advert and in the deed (COBRACE, art. 2.2.13).
- Wallonia: a PEB certificate before the home is put up for sale; the energy performance is in every advert (PEB decree of 28 November 2013, art. 34 and 36).
How to find the EPC of a Flemish home: see How do I find the EPC of a home?.
A purchase involves other points too, such as the checklist before an offer and property tax by municipality. What a report on an address costs is listed under Perceelscan pricing. You can work out the taxes on a purchase for free with the registration duties calculator and the property tax calculator.
The inspection of the electrical installation
Throughout Belgium a home with an electrical installation from before 1 October 1981 must be inspected by an accredited body when it is sold. If the report is negative, the buyer must have the installation brought into line within 18 months and inspected again (AREI, book 1, part 8, 8.4.2).
The soil
- Flanders: before the sale agreement the seller requests a soil certificate from OVAM and shares its content; it is stated in the agreement and the deed (Soil Decree, art. 101).
- Brussels: for every sale the seller requests a soil certificate from Brussels Environment and hands it over before the agreement; if the plot is in category 0, an exploratory soil investigation comes first (ordinance of 5 March 2009, art. 12 and 13).
- Wallonia: the seller requests an extract from the soil database (BDES) for each plot and informs the buyer before the contract (decree of 1 March 2018, art. 31).
The asbestos certificate (Flanders only)
Anyone in Flanders selling a building built in 2000 or earlier must have a valid OVAM asbestos certificate at the sale agreement; if it is missing, the buyer can ask for the sale to be annulled (Materials Decree, art. 33/14). Brussels and Wallonia have no asbestos certificate on sale; there asbestos only matters for works.
More on this: Do I need an asbestos certificate when I buy a house?.
The planning information
The deed states what applies to the plot: the zoning, the permits, a right of pre-emption, heritage. In Flanders this is a planning extract no more than a year old (VCRO, art. 5.2.1); in Brussels the seller requests the information from the municipality (CoBAT, art. 275); in Wallonia every deed states the plot’s data (CoDT, art. D.IV.99). In Flanders the flood P-score and G-score also belong in the advert and the deed.
After the purchase: the renovation obligation
In Flanders, anyone buying a home with a deed in 2026 or 2027 must reach at least label D within six years, shown by a new EPC. The current text requires label C from a deed in 2028, but the Flemish Government has announced that label D will remain the end point: check the position just before you buy (Energy Decree, art. 9.3.3 to 9.3.5). Protected or listed heritage can be exempt. In Brussels a renovation obligation was adopted (ordinance of 7 March 2024) but is not yet in force; Wallonia has none in 2026.
Everything side by side
| Certificate | Flanders | Brussels | Wallonia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy certificate | required on sale | required on sale | required on sale |
| Electrical inspection | if the installation dates from before 1981 | if the installation dates from before 1981 | if the installation dates from before 1981 |
| Soil certificate or extract | required on sale | required on sale | required on sale |
| Asbestos certificate | if the building dates from before 2001 | not required in this region | not required in this region |
| Planning information (renseignements urbanistiques) | required on sale | required on sale | required on sale |
| Renovation obligation after purchase | label D within six years | not yet in force | not required in this region |
What the Perceelscan shows
Section 17 of the report, Obligations on purchase, lists each obligation of the region with its article and a label: required, not needed here (only if the report’s registers show it) or what it depends on, such as the year of construction. Your notary confirms what applies. See the sample report.
Who arranges the certificates for a sale?
The seller: he must have them for the advert, the sale agreement or the deed, depending on the certificate. The notary checks that they are there.
What if the asbestos certificate is missing?
In Flanders the buyer can then ask for the sale to be annulled. Brussels and Wallonia have no such obligation.
Does a recent electrical installation have to be inspected when selling?
The mandatory inspection on sale applies to an installation from before 1 October 1981. A more recent installation was already inspected when it was put into use.
Does the renovation obligation also apply to a flat?
In Flanders, yes: it applies to a house or a flat acquired with a deed from 2023.
Sources
- Vlaanderen.be: the EPC when a home is sold or let
- OVAM: the asbestos certificate
- OVAM: the soil certificate
- Brussels Environment: applying for a soil certificate
- FPS Economy: safety of electrical installations
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