Selling or buying a property as a life annuity (viager)

The principle

Notaire.be describes the viager as a sale that resembles an ordinary sale, with one difference: the buyer does not pay everything at once. They pay in several instalments, by means of an annuity, until the seller’s death.

For the seller, it is extra income. For the buyer, it is a way of spreading the payment for the property.

There is an element of chance (aléa): the total price depends on how long the seller lives. No one knows it at signature. The sale can also be limited in time, for example to 10 or 20 years, which removes this element of chance. Notaire.be notes that, in practice, the annuity often runs for 10 to 20 years.

The lump sum and the annuity

• The lump sum is the amount paid when the notarial deed is signed. It is deducted from the price. It often corresponds to 20 or 30% of the sale price.
• The annuity is an amount paid each month. The two parties set it together.

The two balance each other: the higher the lump sum, the lower the annuity, and vice versa. Notaire.be also warns that an annuity that is too low may be seen by the tax authority as a disguised gift.

Occupied or vacant viager

• The occupied viager (viager occupé) is the most common formula, according to notaire.be. The seller keeps the usufruct: they can continue to live in the property or let it. The buyer is the bare owner.
• In the vacant viager (viager libre), the buyer can use the property from signature.

In an occupied viager, the usufructuary pays for routine maintenance. The bare owner bears the major repairs. A usufructuary can neither sell nor give away the property.

Registration duties

A buyer in principle pays registration duties on the purchase of a building. According to the Bruxelles Fiscalité (the Brussels tax administration) fact sheet (updated on 31 March 2025), a duty of 12.5% is charged on the transfer for consideration of the ownership or usufruct of a building located in Belgium. The general Brussels rate is 12.5%. The competent Region is the one where the property is located.

The taxable base

The duty is calculated on the agreed value: the sale price and the charges. This value may not be lower than the market value, that is, the price the best buyer would agree to pay if the property were put up for sale under the most favourable conditions.

The occupied viager is a sale of the bare ownership, with the seller keeping the usufruct. The Brussels fact sheet is clear for this case: the taxable base may not be lower than the market value of the full ownership. The reserved usufruct therefore does not lower the minimum base.

What changed in Wallonia

Before 2020, Wallonia had a favourable regime for viager: a reduced rate of 6% and a reduced minimum base. Notaire.be (article of 26 December 2019) states that the Walloon Government abolished this regime from 1 January 2020. The normal rate of 12.5% is therefore the starting point in Wallonia.

The Brussels abatement

In Brussels, the base can be reduced by €200,000 (since 1 April 2023) under conditions, for the purchase of a property intended as the main residence of a natural person. This abatement is designed for the buyer who will make it their domicile. The notary says whether the conditions are met in a viager file.

Flanders sets its own rates and its own rules. The Flemish scale can be read on vlaanderen.be.

Indexation of the annuity

A fixed annuity loses value as prices rise. Notaire.be describes the indexation of an annuity as its adjustment, once a year, to the cost of living. The usual formula is: base annuity × new index ÷ base index. The parties may, in some cases, choose another formula.

The pages read do not say which index is mandatory for a viager. The indexation clause is therefore to be read in the deed, and it is a point to have the notary explain before signing.

The risks to know

• The element of chance: the seller may live longer or shorter than expected. The real cost for the buyer is only known at death.
• An annuity that is too low: it may be treated as a disguised gift.
• Benefits: notaire.be points out that a seller who receives the GRAPA (income guarantee for elderly people) loses the benefit of this allowance if they sell as a viager.
• Non-payment: if the buyer persistently fails to pay, the seller can ask for the sale to be cancelled and keep the annuity payments already received. They also have a mortgage registration on the property.
• The property’s costs: in an occupied viager, who pays for routine maintenance and who pays for major repairs depends on whether one is the usufructuary or the bare owner.

The role of the notary

The viager sale must be made by notarial deed. According to notaire.be, the notary carries out the administrative searches, drafts the deed, reads it to the parties, explains it, signs it with them and sees to the formalities before handing over the title deed. Notaire.be also specifies that the first appointment with a notary is free.

The notary is also the person who calculates the exact registration duties for your file and drafts the sensitive clauses: amount of the lump sum, annuity, indexation, guarantees.

Which professionals to consult

• A notary, mandatory: they draft the deed, calculate the registration duties for your file and set with you the clauses on the lump sum, annuity and indexation. The first appointment is free according to notaire.be.
• A lawyer or a wealth adviser, if you want advice on the effect of the viager on your family or inheritance situation.