Ending a lease in Brussels: notice and indemnities

When does the notice period start?

• If notice can be given at any moment (the tenant’s usual case), the period starts on the first day of the month after the month in which notice was given.
• If it can be given only at specific dates (end of a three-year period, end of the term), the period starts on receipt.
• Since 1 November 2024, notice is counted from the day the recipient is presumed to have learnt of it: bailiff, on the day of service; registered letter with acknowledgement, the day the receipt is signed; plain registered letter, the day the notice is presented at the recipient’s address; simple letter, the second day after posting.

If the tenants are a married couple (or legal cohabitants), notice must be sent separately to each spouse, in two envelopes, and by both spouses to the landlord. Ask the landlord to be told in writing or in the lease that you are married.

The Region publishes indicative templates for notice letters on be.brussels.

Nine-year lease: the tenant leaves

The tenant may end the lease at any time, without giving a reason, with three months’ notice. In the first three years an indemnity is due:

After the first three years, there is no indemnity. The indemnity does not have to be paid when notice is given; it is settled in the final account. If the landlord has given notice for own use, works or without reason, the tenant can reply with a one-month counter-notice and no indemnity, even in the first three years.

If the lease is not registered after two months, the tenant does not need to respect the notice periods and owes no indemnity (see Registering a lease in Brussels).

Nine-year lease: the landlord ends it

• At the end of the nine years, or at the end of each following three-year extension: six months’ notice, no reason needed, no indemnity. Without notice, the lease extends for three years on the same terms.
• Own use, at any time: six months’ notice stating the reason and the identity of the occupier and their family link. If the occupier is a relative at the third degree, the notice cannot expire before the end of the first three years. The occupier must move in within a year of the notice expiring and stay effectively and continuously for at least two years; otherwise the tenant is entitled to an indemnity of 18 months’ rent, unless the landlord proves an exceptional circumstance.
• Major works, only at the end of the first or second three-year period: six months’ notice stating the reason, with the planning permit, a detailed quote, a description with detailed cost estimate or a works contract, communicated at the latest within two months. The works must affect the tenant’s own dwelling and cost more than three years’ rent. They must start within six months and end within 24 months of the notice expiring, failing which an indemnity of 18 months’ rent applies.
• Without reason, only at the end of the first or second three-year period: six months’ notice and an indemnity of nine months’ rent (end of first period) or six months’ (end of second period). A lease may exclude or limit these rights of the landlord.

An unreasoned or incomplete notice is void, and the landlord must send a new one.

Short-term lease (three years or less)

• Under six months: the lease ends at its date with no notice and cannot be terminated early.
• Six months or more: either party gives notice at least three months before the end of the term. The tenant can also leave at any time with three months’ notice and an indemnity of one month’s rent. The landlord may end it early only after the first year, for own use by a close relative, with three months’ notice and one month’s indemnity, and the tenant may then leave at any time with one month’s notice and no indemnity.
• Without notice three months before the end, the lease continues and is treated as a nine-year lease from the start, on the original terms.

Other cases

• Student lease: the student can leave at any time with two months’ notice and no indemnity; the landlord can end it only at term, with three months’ notice.
• Exceptional extension: when a lease ends by notice, the tenant can ask in writing, at the latest one month before it ends, for an extension for exceptional circumstances such as divorce, job loss or illness. If the landlord refuses, a judge decides, and can grant at most two extensions.
• Sale of the property: a sale does not end the lease, and the buyer takes over the landlord’s rights and obligations. A tenant on a lease of nine years or more has a right of first refusal on the sale of the home, with 30 days to answer.
• Death of the tenant: the lease continues, unless the home is unoccupied and rent is unpaid for two months after the death.
• Eviction: a tenant can be evicted only after a judge has authorised it. A landlord who evicts without an enforceable title owes 18 months’ rent. Brussels also applies a winter moratorium between 1 November and 15 March; see the be.brussels eviction page for the conditions.

At the end

Do the exit inventory after you leave and before returning the keys. The rental deposit must be released within two months of the key handover for leases from 1 November 2024. For the lease basics, see Renting a home in Brussels.

Other regions

Housing leases are regional. Wallonia and Flanders have their own decrees with their own notice rules, so these Brussels figures do not apply to a home outside the Region.

Which professional to consult

• A lawyer specialised in housing law, before sending or contesting notice.
• A bailiff to serve notice with proof of date.
• A surveyor for the exit inventory.
• The Justice of the Peace for disputes.