What can I do with a house outside its zone?

A house outside its zone (zonevreemde woning) is a house that does not match the zoning of its plot, such as an ordinary house in an agricultural area (agrarisch gebied). As a rule you may renovate and rebuild it within its existing volume, and extend it up to 1,000 m³ at most, provided it is predominantly permitted (hoofdzakelijk vergund), not dilapidated and no extra home is added. Rebuilding and extending are not possible in a spatially vulnerable area (ruimtelijk kwetsbaar gebied), except a park area, or in a recreation area. It always remains a permit application, which also checks whether the project fits its surroundings.

When the basic rights apply

These rights are called the basic rights (basisrechten) and are set out in the Flemish Spatial Planning Code (Vlaamse Codex Ruimtelijke Ordening, VCRO). They apply under every RUP and every development plan (plan van aanleg), such as the regional zoning plan (gewestplan); a RUP can extend them, or impose stricter limits on rebuilding. A house in an unexpired subdivision less than fifteen years old is not outside its zone.

The house must be predominantly permitted: at least 90% of the gross building volume, excluding the ordinary basement and attached outbuildings, is permitted or deemed permitted (vergund geacht), including as a home. It must also not be dilapidated: it must meet the basic requirements of structural stability. Both conditions are assessed at the first application to renovate, rebuild or extend.

A house built before 22 April 1962 is always deemed permitted. A house from the years after that, up to the date the regional zoning plan first came into force, is too, unless a report of an offence (proces-verbaal) or a non-anonymous complaint was drawn up within five years of construction.

What you may build also depends on other rules, such as the permits on the plot and next door and the planning certificate and planning extract. For one address, the free Perceelscan preview brings it together.

Renovating, rebuilding and extending

In all three cases the number of housing units may not increase: adding a flat or a second home is not possible, but a care unit (zorgwoning) is.

Renovating: works within the existing volume, keeping at least 60% of the outer walls; external insulation up to 26 cm counts as within the volume. The zoning never stands in the way.
Rebuilding: demolishing the house, or more than 40% of its outer walls, and building a new one within the existing volume, up to a maximum of 1,000 m³, that overlaps at least three quarters of the old living area. In another spot this is only possible if the house is affected by a road boundary line (rooilijn, the boundary with the public road), lies in the front setback zone (achteruitbouwzone, the front garden strip) or if better spatial planning expressly justifies it.
Extending: up to a building volume of at most 1,000 m³ after the extension.

That volume is the gross volume including an attached garage, veranda or shed, measured with outer walls and roof and without the ordinary basement: it is not living area.

Where rebuilding and extending are not possible

In a recreation area and in a spatially vulnerable area, except a park area; renovating remains possible there. Spatially vulnerable are:

on a development plan: agricultural areas of ecological interest or ecological value, forest areas, source areas, green areas, nature areas (including those of scientific value), nature development areas, nature reserves, flood areas, park areas and valley areas;
in a RUP: forest, park area, reserve and nature, and since 20 August 2026 also agricultural areas of ecological interest;
the Flemish Ecological Network (Vlaams Ecologisch Netwerk) and the protected dune areas.

Ordinary agricultural areas, agricultural areas of landscape value and housing reserve areas (woonreservegebied, the former residential expansion areas) are not spatially vulnerable: the basic rights do apply there. A high P-score (the flood probability) or a signal area does not change that: only a flood area on a development plan is spatially vulnerable. The water test (watertoets) can, however, impose conditions or lead to a refusal.

Demolished, destroyed or another use

Anyone who demolishes first without a permit loses the right to rebuild: after demolition the basic rights only apply if a permit to renovate or rebuild already existed, and within its period of validity.

After a fire, storm or another cause beyond the owner’s control, restoration can be permitted up to 1,000 m³, even in a spatially vulnerable area, but there no larger than the permitted volume. The house must have been lived in during the previous year, and the application must be made within three years of the insurance payout, or five years of the damage if there was no insurance.

Another use, such as living in a former farm, is only possible for the changes on a list of the Flemish Government, and under conditions.

What does this mean if you are buying a house?

Check whether a RUP applies, for example a municipal RUP for houses outside their zone, or a subdivision less than fifteen years old. The municipality’s permit register (vergunningenregister) lists the permits and whether the house is recorded as ‘deemed permitted’. Have an architect measure the building volume according to the definition in the VCRO.

If you want certainty before buying, apply for a planning certificate (stedenbouwkundig attest): in it the municipality says in advance whether your plan can be permitted and whether the house is dilapidated, which the Departement Omgeving expressly recommends. How to apply is explained on vlaanderen.be.

What the Perceelscan shows

For each address, the Perceelscan shows the plan that applies, with the zone and a link to its provisions. It also shows, among other things, the P- and G-scores, signal areas, heritage, the environmental permits (omgevingsvergunningen) on the plot and next door, and historical maps.

It does not say whether the house is predominantly permitted and not dilapidated: that is for the permitting authority to judge. It is not a planning certificate or planning extract (stedenbouwkundig uittreksel), and not the advice of a notary or lawyer; it does not include owners’ names, the cadastral income or the energy performance certificate (EPC).

Sources

Check it for your address

Updated on 24 October 2026