Is this house permitted?

There is no certificate that says ‘this house is permitted’. You compare the property information (vastgoedinlichtingen), the municipal permit register and the plans in the building file with what is actually there. Anything built before 22 April 1962 counts as permitted. Anything built or altered later without a permit remains unpermitted, even if the authorities can no longer act against it because of the time limit.

The municipal permit register

Every municipality keeps a permit register (vergunningenregister) for each cadastral plot. It includes, among other things, the certificates issued, permit applications and decisions, court and administrative rulings, formal reports of breaches, lapsed permits and the structures deemed permitted.

Anyone may consult the register at the town hall. You do not need to be the owner to look at it.

A purchase involves other points too, such as requesting a building file and where to check a plot yourself. 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.

Permitted, deemed permitted and mainly permitted

These are three different things. Permitted is whatever received a permit. Deemed permitted is a presumption in the Flemish Spatial Planning Code:

built before 22 April 1962, proven by any legally admissible evidence: always deemed permitted;
built between 22 April 1962 and the first entry into force of the regional zoning plan (gewestplan): deemed permitted, unless a formal report or a non-anonymous objection made within five years of construction says otherwise;
later works that do not meet these conditions are not covered.

Since 20 August 2026, the presumption becomes final as soon as no one can still appeal against its entry in the permit register; this does not apply in spatially vulnerable areas. The date of the regional zoning plan differs from plan to plan; ask the municipality. Mainly permitted means that at least 90% of the building volume is permitted or deemed permitted, including its use. This matters, among other things, for a home outside a residential zone.

Time-barred is not permitted

New limitation rules have applied since 1 April 2026. The authorities can demand restoration up to five years after learning of the breach and the offender through a formal report or a report of findings, and no later than twenty years after the breach. Criminal prosecution is in principle time-barred after ten years. Older explanations such as ‘time-barred after five or ten years, so it is fine’ are no longer correct.

A time limit is not a regularisation: a time-barred structure remains unlawful. Only a permit or actual restoration ends the irregular situation. Breaches other than criminal offences can lead to an administrative fine of €50 to €400,000.

What the seller must disclose

In the advertisement, the compromis and the deed, the seller states, among other things:

whether an environmental permit for planning works has been issued;
the most recent planning designation of the plot;
any restoration measure or pending procedure for one;
any right of pre-emption and any subdivision permit.

If he says nothing about a restoration measure, you can ask for the sale to be annulled if the property is or may be subject to one, unless this was corrected in the deed and you waive the claim. In the deed, you declare that you received a planning extract no more than one year old.

What does this mean if you are buying a house?

An unlawful situation stays with the property. So before your offer, check:

the property information: only the owner, the notary, the estate agent or another professional can request it, so ask the seller;
the Woningpas: the owner can share a public link, and it contains an overview of permits;
the permit register at the town hall;
the Inzageloket of the Omgevingsloket, for applications under public consultation, including next door.

Compare on site: the number of homes, outbuildings, a conservatory, a dormer, a garage turned into a room, a different use. If in doubt, have the notary check before you sign the compromis.

What the Perceelscan shows

For each address, the Perceelscan shows, from public registers:

the plan that applies, with the zone and its provisions, and the planning regulations;
plans in preparation and expropriation plans;
heritage, flooding, nature and any right of pre-emption (a public body that may buy first when a property is sold);
Seveso sites (with dangerous substances) and OVAM’s soil investigations;
vacancy and housing quality, such as repair orders;
the environmental permits on the plot and at the neighbours, and historical maps;
how many m² of floor area can be built under the rules.

The Perceelscan does not decide whether a house is permitted: the municipality, with its permit register, and the notary establish that. It shows what public registers record, such as permits and repair orders, so that you know which questions to ask.

In the other regions

In Brussels: How do you know whether a house in Brussels is permitted?
In Wallonia: How do you know whether a house in Wallonia has its permits?

Sources

Check it for your address

Updated on 24 October 2026