1. Excessive rents are over
The rent must be in proportion to the reference rent, which is obligatory in the tenancy agreement. Is too high a price asked anyway? In that case, the tenant can:
- Ask for a review if the rent is 20% above the reference
- Complain to the new joint rent committee, which mediates
- Go directly to the Justice of the Peace
💡 You can find reference rents at loyers.brussels.
Note: there is no reference price (yet) for student rooms smaller than 18 m². Do you let a house, flat or studio? Then you are obliged to include the reference price in the agreement.
2. New mandatory information before contract signing
From now on, before signing a tenancy agreement, you must also provide this information:
The reference rent;
In the case of a short-term contract (< 3 years) with domicile: the type of contract, the amount and the date of the last rent payment.
How? You can add this as information to the description of the room on MyKot.
3. Domiciliation: what's allowed and what's not?
Placing a domicile is an administrative matter between a resident and the municipality. So, a student may domicile without your permission.
But, the new rules distinguish between:
- Choosing domicile → can be done without permission of the landlord
- Designating the room address as the main residence → you may refuse under these conditions:
- You motivate the refusal explicitly. We have already added the special destination as student accommodation in the model contract.
- You mention the actual main residence of the tenant in the contract.
💡For international students staying longer than 3 months, a residence address is required.
4. Pets allowed from now on
Tenants have the right to keep a pet. Yet you can impose restrictions based on:
- Nuisance
- Aggressive behaviour
- Number of animals
- The type of animal
Make sure you justify these rules properly and include them in the house rules!
5. Mandatory annex to the tenancy agreement
Article 21 of the model contract refers to a 22-page annex explaining the Brussels rental rules. As a landlord, you must provide this annex to the tenant. You can find the annex on this website.
6. Lower costs in case of late payment
Annual interest for late payment has been reduced to the legal interest rate of 4.5% instead of 7%. Additional administration fees for reminders are now prohibited. This will help tenants who are financially strapped.
7. Rules around subletting and rent transfer
As a landlord, you can still refuse to sublet or transfer. But you must now respond to a tenant's request in a timely manner.
- On rent transfer, you have 30 days
- On subletting, you have 15 days
⚠️ Don't respond? Then that is considered as an approval.
8. Compulsory fire insurance
Every tenant must have fire insurance. For students, the parents' fire insurance policy can sometimes be extended to a second residence. So check that carefully.
9. Dual registration requirement
Since 1 January 2025, there has been an additional registration requirement in Brussels. Both the federal and Brussels governments now require registration of the tenancy agreement.
Professional landlords can easily do this through MyRentPro.
Private landlords must carry out both registrations separately.
More info: housing.brussels.
➡️ Looking ahead to 2026
Additional housing quality standards and fire safety regulations are coming, such as requirements around the number of cooktops or access to hot water. We will be sure to keep you informed about these via our newsletter.
Do you have questions about these changes or want to download the new model contract? Then be sure to take a look at mykot.be or contact us.
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