What do the Walloon terms in a contract or deed mean?
Anyone buying in Wallonia reads the documents in French: the planning information, the soil extract, the preliminary contract. Below are the terms that recur, in alphabetical order, with what they mean and a link to the guide that covers them. The exact meaning of a term is set by law; this list helps you read the documents.
The terms
| Term | What it means | More |
|---|---|---|
| Aléa d'inondation | The flood hazard on the 2021 map, from very low to high. | guide |
| Autorisation patrimoniale | The heritage authorisation that any work on a listed property requires beforehand. | guide |
| AWaP | Agence wallonne du Patrimoine: the regional heritage administration. | guide |
| BDES | Banque de données de l’état des sols: the soil database, plot by plot. | guide |
| Bien classé | A listed property: monument, ensemble, site or archaeological site under protection. | guide |
| Certificat d'urbanisme n° 1 | What applies to a plot: zone, plans, perimeters and risks. | guide |
| Certificat d'urbanisme n° 2 | An assessment of a specific project, valid for two years. | guide |
| Certificat PEB | The energy certificate of a home, from A++ to G. | guide |
| CoDT | Code du Développement Territorial: the Walloon spatial planning code, since 1 June 2017. | guide |
| CoPat | Code wallon du Patrimoine: the Walloon Heritage Code, since 1 June 2024. | guide |
| Dérogation | A departure from the plan de secteur or from a standard, only in the cases the CoDT lists. | guide |
| Droit de préemption | The right of a public body to buy first within a perimeter. | guide |
| DRIGM | The SPW department for subsoil risks: mines, quarries and karst. | guide |
| Écart | A justified departure from an indicative document, such as a SOL or a guide. | guide |
| Extrait conforme | The BDES extract the seller passes on at every transfer. | guide |
| Fonctionnaire délégué | The regional official who advises on permits, or grants them himself. | guide |
| Guide régional d'urbanisme | The regional guide; its standards bind, its indications give direction. | guide |
| Guide communal d'urbanisme | The municipal guide, indicative only. | guide |
| Impact limité | Works that need a permit, but with a lighter procedure. | guide |
| Pastille | The mark of special heritage value for a property in the inventory. | guide |
| Permis d'urbanisation | Formerly permis de lotir: the permit to divide land into building plots for homes. | guide |
| Permis d'urbanisme | The planning permit to build, alter or demolish. | guide |
| Plan de secteur | The regional zoning plan: the binding designated use of every plot in Wallonia. | guide |
| RGBSR | The rules for building in a rural village, part of the regional guide. | guide |
| SAR | Site à réaménager: a disused business site the Region wants to redevelop. | guide |
| SDC | Schéma de développement communal: the municipality’s direction for its whole territory. | guide |
| SOL | Schéma d’orientation local: the indicative plan for a neighbourhood, formerly a PCA or RUE. | guide |
| ZACC | Zone d’aménagement communal concerté: a reserve zone, buildable only once the municipality opens it. | guide |
| Zone de protection | The zone around a listed property that protects the views of it. | guide |
A purchase involves other points too, such as who provides which information on a plot and registration duties by region. 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.
Abbreviations in a deed
Notaries often use abbreviations: CU1 and CU2 for the planning certificates, PU for a permis d’urbanisme, SPW for the Service public de Wallonie, the regional administration, and CPAS for the public social welfare centre. A PCA, RUE or schéma directeur in an old deed now counts as a SOL; a permis de lotir as a permis d’urbanisation.
In the other regions
- In Flanders: What do the terms used when buying a house mean?
- In Brussels: What do the Brussels terms mean when you buy a house?
Sources
Updated on