Buying a property in Brussels: what are the existing advantages?

In Belgium, property buyers and owners can benefit from a series of bonuses, tax advantages and other financial aid. But beware: goods are generally subject to different regimes depending on their geographical location. Here is an overview of the main benefits available in the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the conditions to be met to access them.

In Brussels as in Wallonia, the registration fees are set at 12.5% – against 10% in Flanders. People who buy real estate in Brussels can, however, benefit from an allowance (reduction of the tax base) of 200,000 euros. This first installment of the price of the property is therefore not subject to registration fees, which represents an advantage of 25,000 euros.

An additional allowance of 50,000 euros is also granted to owners who undertake a substantial energy renovation of their property and make it gain at least two classes on the PEB scale. To benefit from the allowance, there are conditions: for example, the total amount of the property (price, costs, etc.) must not exceed 600,000 euros, the dwelling must be located in the Brussels-Capital Region, the buyer is a natural person and makes the purchase in full ownership. The abatement on registration fees is also conditioned by the fact that the purchaser is not already the full owner of another dwelling, and that he retains his main residence in the property for a minimum of 5 uninterrupted years – otherwise he will have to repay the deduction in proportion to the years spent in the accommodation.

Since the beginning of 2022, owners who live in their property have benefited from an annual Be Home bonus of 139 euros automatically deducted from the amount of their property tax. Some Brussels municipalities supplement this regional bonus with a “municipal housing bonus”. In Ixelles and Anderlecht, owners occupying their property can, for example, benefit from an additional reduction of 40 euros on their property tax. This amount reaches 70 euros in Schaerbeek, and 140 euros in Evere.

It should also be noted that at the regional level, reductions in the property tax are planned in particular for classified properties (advantage of -25 to -100%) and « modest houses » whose non-indexed cadastral income does not exceed 745 euros (reduction from -25 to -50%). Households with at least two children domiciled in the property are also entitled to a 10% reduction per dependent child.

The purchase of a property is often the ideal time to carry out renovation work, particularly in terms of energy. In Brussels, owners who embark on this kind of project can benefit from the Renolution bonuses, a series of financial aids intended for all buildings that are at least 10 years old. The bonuses relate to work to improve energy performance (heating, insulation, audit, etc.) but also interventions related to structural work, sanitation or even certain interior fittings.

The amount of the premiums is higher for low-income households, and to be entitled to them, the work must be carried out by a contractor. You should also know that Belgian law provides for a VAT rate of 6% (instead of 21%) for certain renovation works in homes built more than 10 years ago.

To facilitate access to property, the Brussels Housing Fund offers mortgage loans at rates currently ranging from 3 to 4.5%. To benefit from it, you must in particular acquire a property in the Brussels-Capital Region and occupy it for the entire duration of the loan. Loans from the Housing Fund are reserved for people who are not already homeowners (in Belgium or abroad) and whose taxable income does not exceed certain ceilings depending on the composition of the household. The credits can extend up to 30 years and the amounts granted depend on the repayment capacity of the borrowers. They can in some cases reach 120% of the value of the property in order to also cover certain legal and/or renovation costs.

The Housing Fund also offers an ECORENO loan (up to 25,000 euros) to finance renovation work. The rates are 0 or 1% depending on income and the access conditions are quite similar to those of mortgage credit.