Ending a 9-year lease in Brussels

The nine-year main-residence lease strongly protects the tenant. The landlord can still end it, but only in the cases provided by law, with six months' notice and, depending on the ground, compensation.

Ground	When	Notice	Compensation to the tenant
End of the 9 years	At expiry	6 months	None
Owner or family occupation	At any time	6 months	None, if occupation is genuine
Major works	At the end of a three-year period, or at any time if several homes are affected	6 months	None, if the works are carried out
Without reason	At the end of the 1st or 2nd three-year period	6 months	9 months' rent, then 6 months

Owner occupation

The notice must state who will occupy the home and their relationship to the landlord. Occupation must begin within the year following the tenant's departure and last at least two years, genuinely. Otherwise, the tenant may claim compensation of 18 months' rent.

Major works

The works must be substantial, to the point of making the home uninhabitable, and cost more than three years' rent. The notice must be accompanied by documents proving them: permit, quotes, description. If they are not carried out on time, the same 18-month compensation applies.

Without reason

Only possible at the end of a three-year period, with compensation: nine months' rent at the end of the first period, six months at the end of the second.

Not a valid ground

Selling the property does not allow the lease to be ended. The buyer takes over the lease on the same terms.

And if nobody acts?

Without notice given at least six months before expiry, the nine-year lease is extended for three years on the same terms.

What BDW Invest does

We check the ground, the timing and the content of the notice, draft it and send it in due form. A poorly reasoned or wrongly dated notice is void: it is not something to improvise.

Sources: Droits Quotidiens, ending a 9-year lease in Brussels · Bruxelles-J, landlord's notice

Ending a 9-year lease in Brussels: the landlord's options