In the case of a lease agreement for ...	then ...
an immovable property intended exclusively for the housing of a family or of one person Examples: a house, an apartment, a student room, a second residence	the owner (lessor) has to register the lease agreement the tenant can – but is not obliged to – register the lease agreement Remarks: registration is free of charge the lease agreement has to be registered within two months from signature
an immovable property that is not intended exclusively for the housing of a family or of one person Examples: a house with a store or an office for professional purposes, a business, a company building, a ground, a parking space	the owner (lessor) or the tenant have to register the lease agreement. Remarks: registration is not free of charge the lease agreement has to be registered within four months from signature

Remarks:

• It is mandatory to draw up a written lease agreement for a property that serves as a main residence (a house, an apartment, but not a student room, a second residence).
• Lease agreements signed before 1 January 2007, involving immovable property intended exclusively for the housing of a family or of one person and that had not been registered, had to be registered by 1 July 2007.

When registering a lease agreement, the responsible office Legal Security takes the most important data from the written lease agreement into a register.

For lease agreements submitted on paper, the registration is confirmed by attaching the registration certificate to the lease agreement.

A lease agreement that is digitally registered through MyMinfin is also available there once it has been registered.

On MyMinfin you can check for yourself if your lease is registered.

• Sign in with your e-ID or through Itsme
• Click on 'View my lease agreements' in the section 'My home and my immovable property'

You will find the registration number of your lease agreement on the registration certificate.

Your registration certificate can be found on MyMinfin:

• Sign in
• Click on 'My documents’
• Select 'Proof of registration' from the drop-down menu

The registration number can be found in the pdf of the registration certificate.

No, the receipt only indicates that we have received your application properly.

• If your application is valid, you will receive a second document, a so-called registration certificate. This is the proof that your lease agreement has effectively been registered.
• If your application is not valid, you will receive a request for additional information or the application will be refused.

Registering a lease agreement gives the lease a ‘fixed date’. This means that no one can dispute that date and that the agreement is ‘binding on third parties’. This is important for both the tenant and the lessor.

Protection of the tenant

If the lease agreement is intended for housing and the property is used as a main residence, if the leased property is sold, the tenant is legally protected from eviction by the new owner-lessor from the ‘fixed date’, since the latter is bound by the lease agreement.

Protection of the lessor (owner)

• If the owner has registered the lease agreement for a property intended as a main residence, concluded for a period longer than three years, the tenant has to respect a period of notice to terminate the lease (this is what the law calls the protection of the lessor.
• Registering a lease agreement for a property that is intended partly for housing and partly for other purposes (for example, a store or an office) also offers the lessor the advantage of having income tax assessed and taxed separately for each part. Whereas in the absence of registration of that lease agreement, the entire net rental income will be taxed.

To register your lease agreement, it should contain at least the following elements:

• the first names, name, date and place of birth and address of the lessor(s) (owner(s))
• the first names, name, date and place of birth and address of the tenant(s)
• for a legal entity: the company number, the company name and the address of the registered office. Where a company number has not yet been assigned, the registered office with proof of the company number not yet having been assigned in the deed or in an additional statement at the bottom of the deed.
• the address and description of the leased property (i.e. a description of all the rooms and parts of the building that are the subject of the lease agreement), preferably with mention of the land registry data
• the date (day/month/year) on which the lease starts and the duration of the lease agreement (preferably with start and end dates)
• the rent (rent and charges)
• the date (day/month/year) of signing the contract
• the signatures of the lessor(s) and tenant(s)

There are two ways to register a lease agreement.

Online through MyMinfin

• Sign in
• Click on 'Welcome - My home and my immovable property - Register a lease agreement (MyRent)'
• Click on ‘LEASE AGREEMENTS’ left in the menu and next on ‘Submit your lease agreement’
• Enter the requested data
• Make a copy of the lease agreement in pdf format and upload it into the application
• Send your application

You will receive a receipt notification of your application. When your lease agreement is registered, you will receive the registration certificate (the proof of registration). Should your application be incomplete, you will be contacted.

Did you know that you can even register a lease agreement for a family member or a friend? You do not have to be a party to the lease agreement to have it registered!

By post

• Ask for a standard form. There are 3 versions, depending on the document to be registered:
  • Registration application for a lease agreement with or without delivery report
  • Registration application for a separately submitted delivery report for a lease
  • Registration application for a sublease or addendum, a transfer of lease or a termination of lease or sublease
• Send the documents to our scanning centre:
  • Fill in the form and join a copy of the document
  • Send the original form with the copy of the document in a sufficiently stamped envelope to the FPS Finance scanning centre. The address of the scanning centre can be found on the form

Important:

• Use a separate form for each lease agreement
• Use an original copy of the form, not a copy or printout
• Enclose a copy of the lease agreement. This is because the documents you send to the scanning centre are not returned after scanning

A standard form can be obtained by phone or through our web form. Keep in mind that it may take up to 10 working days to receive the form by post.

Also note that you should always observe the deadline for registration. If you still have not received the form after 10 working days and the registration deadline is approaching, then you should take the necessary steps to register your lease agreement through MyMinfin in order to avoid being late and having to pay a fine.

BY PHONE

• Call the general number of the Federal Public Service Finance: +32 2 572 57 57 and mention the type of agreement you want to register
• One of our staff members will then send you a standard form

THROUGH OUR WEB FORM

• Under ‘What is the subject of your question?’ select the option ‘Request form lease agreement’.
• Under 'Subject', choose which form you need.
• Fill in at least the other mandatory fields.
• Click on ‘validate’ at the bottom left.

When your lease agreement is registered, you will receive the registration certificate (the proof of registration). Should your application be incomplete, you will be contacted.

Important: the lease agreement should always be signed by both parties.

The lease agreement for an immovable property intended exclusively for the housing of a family or of one person has to be registered within two months from the signing of the agreement.

The lease agreement for an immovable property that isnot intended exclusively for the housing of a family or of one person, such as a company building, a ground or a parking space, has to be registered within four months from the signing of the agreement. Moreover, the registration duties have to be paid before the end of this period or you risk having to pay a fine for late payment.

If the offices are closed on the last day of the period, then the deadline is extended to the first working day following its expiration.

Example: the lease agreement of an apartment signed on 21 May 2012 has to be registered by 23 July 2012 at the latest, since 21 and 22 July are a holiday and a Sunday.

The registration of a lease agreement for an immovable property intended exclusively for the housing of a family or of one person is free of charge.

Registration duty does apply to the registration of a lease agreement for an immovable property that is not intended exclusively for the housing of a family or of one person, such as a company, a ground or a parking space. In this case, the registration duty is 0.2 % on the total amount of the rent and charges due by the tenant for the duration of the lease agreement, but with a minimum that cannot be less than the general fixed duty of 50 euros.

For example: for a three-year lease agreement with a rent of 900 euros per month and 100 euros of charges per month, registration will cost 72 euros (36 months x 900 + 36 months x 100 euros = a total of 36,000 euros on which 0.2 % is charged, makes 72 euros).

Remark: if, within the same lease agreement, an immovable property is leased that is intended partly for housing and partly for other purposes (store or office), registration duties are due for both parts. But if two separate lease agreements are drawn up (one for housing and one for other purposes), the lease agreement that relates solely to housing is registered free of charge.

Note that if the deadline for registering your lease agreement has expired, you will have to pay a fine.

If the lease agreement is not registered in the case of…	then ...
a main residence for which a lease agreement was concluded for a period of more than three years	the tenant can terminate the agreement without a period of notice Note that there is a difference according to the location of the leased property. BRUSSELS-CAPITAL REGION AND WALLOON REGION The tenant first has to send a notice of default to the lessor to register the lease agreement. For the Brussels-Capital Region Notice of default by means of a registered letter. For the Walloon Region Notice of default: by means of a registered letter or by means of a writ or by delivery into the hands of the addressee(s), who double-signed it, indicating the date of receipt If the lessor has not complied with the notice of default after one month, the tenant may terminate the lease agreement without a period of notice. However, the tenant has to notify the lessor of the termination. FLEMISH REGION The tenant only has to notify the lessor of the termination, which takes effect on the first day of the month following the month in which the notice of termination was given.
the sale of a main residence	the tenant cannot oppose eviction by the new owner
an immovable property that is leased partly for housing and partly for other purposes (store or office)	the owner is taxed on the total amount of the net rental income

Note that if the deadline for registering your lease agreement has expired, you will have to pay a fine.