What are the BDES and the extrait conforme in a sale?
In Wallonia the soil database, the Banque de données de l’état des sols (BDES), records per plot what is known about the soil. At every transfer of a plot the seller requests an extrait conforme, an extract from that database, passes it to the buyer and its content goes into the deed (soil decree of 1 March 2018). It costs €30 for the first plot and is valid for at most a year for a deed.
The colours of the BDES
- Peach (pêche): the plot is presumed suspect. There was an activity that can pollute the soil, or a soil study or clean-up has already taken place (art. 12, § 2 and 3).
- Lavender (lavande): there is only information, which imposes no obligation (art. 12, § 4).
- White: nothing known. That does not mean the land has been investigated.
Other things often matter on the same plot too, such as mine shafts and karst and the Walloon flood hazard map. You can see how a report brings them together in the sample report.
When a soil study is required
A sale on its own does not require a soil study. An orientation study (étude d’orientation), the first study by a soil expert approved by the Region, is required if you apply for a permit on a plot in peach for a new building, an extension, a different footprint or a different use, and when an activity posing a risk to the soil stops. Whoever bears the obligation pays. Buyer and seller can also jointly commission a voluntary study before the deed.
Requesting the extrait conforme
The notary usually requests it through their own channel; others use the BDES website. It costs €30 for the first plot and €10 for each further one, up to a maximum of €320. It is valid for at most a year for a notarial deed and three months for a permit application, and lapses earlier if the database changes in the meantime.
If the seller does not provide it, the buyer can claim the sale is void. If the plot is in peach, ask before the preliminary contract what happened there and who pays for any later study.
What the Perceelscan shows
Section 12 of the report shows whether the plot is in the BDES, in peach or lavender, and what the subsoil map indicates there. It does not replace the extrait conforme, which remains required at the sale.
Where to check it yourself
On the BDES map anyone can see the colour of a plot for free; the extrait conforme itself is paid.
Who requests the extrait conforme?
The seller: they must request and pass it on at every transfer of a plot. Usually the notary does this for them. The extract may not be more than a year old at the time of the deed.
Is a plot in lavender a problem?
Usually not. Lavender means there is only information, with no duty to investigate or clean up. Do read it: it sometimes says something about the land’s past.
In the other regions
- In Flanders: What is an orientation soil investigation?
- In Brussels: When do you need a soil certificate in Brussels?
Sources
- BDES: the Walloon soil database
- Wallonie.be: requesting an extrait conforme
- Wallonie.be: when a soil study is required
- Wallex: the soil decree of 1 March 2018
- UVCW: the colours of the BDES
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