Brussels tenants: your home must meet minimum standards, and you can complain
Every rented home in Brussels must meet minimum standards for safety, health and basic equipment such as heating and hot water. If yours has serious defects and the landlord does nothing, you can file a complaint with the regional housing inspectorate.
Brussels · Subject to change
Sources checked on · next check by . Check the source before you act.
In Brussels, every rented home must meet minimum standards in three areas: safety (stability, electricity, gas, heating), health (damp, pests, light, ventilation, minimum space) and basic equipment (cold and hot water, a toilet, heating, cooking facilities and smoke detectors). The landlord is responsible for meeting them throughout the lease.
If your home has serious defects, such as damp, heating that does not work or no hot water, and your landlord does not act when you ask, you can file a complaint with the regional housing inspectorate of Bruxelles Logement, online or with a paper form. The complaint is accepted when the home is in the Brussels Region and your lease is still running.
Inspectors then visit the home. If they find defects, the landlord receives a formal notice with a deadline to carry out the works. A home that poses a serious risk can be banned from rental straight away; in that case tenants may have to move out, and the inspectorate's social unit contacts them about rehousing.
Details
| Impact | Indirect · This saves no energy by itself: it is a rule, a service, a contract, or a health or safety item. How we rate impact |
|---|---|
| Estimated saving | Not an energy saving; it explains the minimum standards and how to enforce them. (confidence: high) |
| Who acts | You (tenant) |
| Needs landlord's agreement | No |
| Type | Rules explained |
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Sources
- Normes et sécurité (in French) · Région de Bruxelles-Capitale (be.brussels, Bruxelles Logement) (official source) · checked on
- Plainte pour non conformité d'un logement (in French) · Région de Bruxelles-Capitale (be.brussels, Bruxelles Logement) (official source) · checked on