Registering a lease in Brussels: deadline and platforms

What registration does

Registration enters the lease in an electronic register held by the regional lease-registration service. It gives the contract a “certain date” (a date that third parties cannot contest), which matters mostly if the property is sold: the buyer must respect a lease that has a certain date. A notarial lease always has a certain date; a private written lease gets one on the day it is registered, on the death of one signatory, or when its existence is recorded in a notarial deed.

Between landlord and tenant, an unregistered lease is just as valid as a registered one. The sanctions are about indexation, rent revision and notice, explained below.

The deadline and who must do it

• Two months from signature. be.brussels states that every housing lease must be registered within two months of signing.
• The landlord bears the obligation. The tenant, or a third party such as a relative or friend acting for both sides, may also register it.
• It is free. be.brussels notes the cost is borne by the landlord, and the procedure itself is free.

If the landlord does not register, the tenant may take the initiative. That protects the tenant against third parties, in particular a buyer of the property.

How to register in Brussels

• IRISrent (regional platform, via IRISbox). Required for Brussels homes in leases signed from 1 January 2025, and for older leases not yet on MyRent. be.brussels says it takes about 20 minutes.
• MyRent (federal platform). After a Constitutional Court ruling of 3 April 2025, be.brussels states that landlords must register housing leases on both platforms. Leases for shops and offices go on MyRent only.
• Paper. A downloadable form can be sent by post to the regional lease-registration service or presented at its counter.
• Professionals such as agencies can use an API.

On the regional platform you upload the signed lease, its annexes and the entry inventory of fixtures (see Inventory of fixtures in Brussels). You are also asked for the parties’ contact details, a description of the home (cadastral parcel, habitable floor area, EPB data) and the main contract data (type of lease, date). Have your EPB certificate at hand.

Contact: Brussels Housing, +32 800 40 400, irisrent@sprb.brussels. The be.brussels registration page is available in French; the English page points to it.

What happens if the lease is not registered

According to the Housing Code (art. 228/5, as reported in the regional legal brochure):

1. The tenant need not respect the notice periods and owes no indemnities for early termination (see Ending a lease and notice periods in Brussels).
2. The rent cannot be revised upwards.
3. The rent cannot be indexed. A valid EPB certificate must also have been given to the tenant (see Rent indexation in Brussels).

These consequences apply once the two-month period has passed and for as long as the lease remains unregistered.

Registration of a shared-tenancy pact

Co-tenants can register their shared-tenancy (colocation) pact to give it a certain date. This is in their own interest, because the pact binds only the co-tenants who sign it, not the landlord or third parties, unless it has a certain date.

Other regions

Housing leases are regional. In Wallonia, the Walloon Housing Decree also makes the landlord responsible for registering and refers to a two-month period under the registration-duties code; if a notice to register is unanswered for one month, the tenant’s notice period and indemnity no longer apply (art. 53-54). Flanders has its own rules, so check them before signing outside Brussels.

Which professional to consult

• The estate agent managing the lease, who can register it for the landlord.
• A notary if the lease was drawn up as a notarial deed (certain date from the start).
• A lawyer if the landlord refuses to register and you want to rely on the consequences above.