You’ll only feel at home in Flanders once you’ve found the right place to live. What is the right location for you? Base your decision on your needs and preferences:

• Do you prefer city life or a quieter lifestyle in a smaller town or village?
• Do you need to live close to public transport?
• Would you prefer to live near your workplace or school?
• What is your budget?
• Are you best purchasing or renting a home?

You may decide to spend time in a hotel or other accommodation before buying or renting a more permanent home. Living without your own furniture does require patience, but it is worth waiting for the right property.

Renting

You may decide that renting a property is more suitable for you than purchasing. This may be a permanent decision. It may be a temporary one. But in either situation, you want to know your rights and obligations before you sign the rental agreement. A good tenancy agreement and inventory report will potentially help you avoid all kinds of problems.

The Flemish public administration offers tools (in Dutch)(opens in new window) to help you find a quality property at a fair rental price. There are also a number of rental premiums for those on a modest income. You may even qualify for social rental housing.

Assistance needed in rent disputes?

Agreements between tenant and landlord are usually set out in the lease. Practical problems are best discussed by the tenant with the landlord first. If the problems are not resolved, you can take various steps. (in Dutch)

Rent and indexation

The landlord and the tenant determine the rent (in Dutch) by mutual agreement. Once the rent is fixed, it cannot simply be changed. The rent may be indexed once a year, except when the contract states that there will be no indexation. The rent may be indexed every year on the anniversary of the effective date of the lease. An indexation never happens automatically. The landlord must request such indexation in writing.

Purchasing a property

It might look like the property of your dreams … But if you make the wrong decision, your dreams could easily turn into your nightmares. Especially if you rush into a purchase. The best approach? Making sure you have all the information possible:

• Visit several properties to develop an understanding of what to expect for what price. You’ll also learn what you do and do not like and do and do not need.
• Visit the property more than once, preferably with an expert.
• Ask for advice from professionals, such as architects, contractors, notaries, etc.
• Ask the owner about the condition of the property. Does the electricity meet requirements? Is the property energy efficient? Is it located in a flood-prone area? When selling the property, the owner needs to have certain certificates (in Dutch) that answer these questions.
• Every building has a Woningpas (in Dutch). This is a kind of building passport. It’s designed to provide the owner of a building with insights into anything and everything they need to know about. If necessary, the owner can grant you access to the Woningpas of the property they’re selling.
• You may also request an urban planning certificate (in Dutch). This will help you to see how feasible future building projects are.
• Explore the surroundings of the plot of land on geopunt.be (in Dutch)(opens in new window) to find out about the risk of flooding, traffic noise, proximity to public transport, forests, businesses or housing areas.

Taking out a mortgage loan

To buy or build a home, you will more than likely need to take out a loan. For this, you can contact banks, but also an insurance company or an institution with a social objective, such as the various housing companies.

Flanders offers you the opportunity to apply for an advantageous housing loan for those with a modest income who still want to buy their own home in the Flemish Region. This is called the Flanders housing loan (in Dutch).

Costs

When you purchase a property, there are other costs on top of the price of the house or apartment. For example, you have to pay taxes:

• You have to pay sales tax (a registration tax) on an existing property.

• You have to pay VAT (in Dutch) on a new property.

You’ll also have to pay notary fees when it’s time to sign the deed. The website includes a simulator that calculates these costs for you.

What to do if you have problems paying your mortgage?

If you have not paid your monthly repayments (in full) 3 times, your lender will send you a reminder with a registered letter. Also, your details will then be forwarded to a kind of “blacklist” for defaulters, which is the Central Individual Credit Register. It will then become very difficult to take out credit anywhere else. Take the following steps into account:

• Talk to your lender as soon as possible
• Ask if you can “pause” the payment
• Extend the term of your loan
• Ask for a simulation

Insurance against fire and damage

As a home owner, whether it’s a legal obligation or not, it’s best to purchase home insurance. Make sure your policy covers you for damage caused by fire, water, natural disasters, storms, etc. This isn’t the only benefit to home insurance. You’re covered by your home insurance in case you damage a neighbouring property.

Public Registry Office (Kadaster)

The notary will complete the transfer of the ownership, registering the purchase in the Public Registry Office (Kadaster). If you need a mortgage, it’s best to discuss the terms with the seller before you make an offer. You may also need to arrange a loan or banker’s guarantee when paying the deposit for the property you’re purchasing. Discuss this with your real-estate agent or bank.

Water companies

You’ll need to contact a water company to connect - or disconnect - your water. If you are moving house, it is possible to have the subscription to the water service transferred. You’ll need to arrange this with the former resident.

Electricity connection

Wherever you’re living, you’ll need an energy contract. A lot of energy suppliers will arrange gas and electrical connections for you. There are contracts for indefinite terms and contracts for specific durations. You have the option of switching suppliers before a contract has been completed; this is particularly easy for households and small businesses.

Arranging a contract is quite straightforward. You’re able to do it by telephone, during a visit from a salesperson, in a sales outlet and via the supplier’s website—this is generally the fastest way to do it. Please note that your energy contract will only come into effect after you’ve signed it and it’s been confirmed by the new supplier.

Home adaptation grant

As you grow older, you may find you need to adapt your home to your needs. Worried about how much this will cost? The Flemish Home Adaptation Grant is designed to provide financial assistance when you adapt your home. It subsidises the costs of installing technical aids or making renovations designed to improve accessibility. It’s only available if you’re 65 or older and adapting your home to physical needs related to your age.

Flemish rent subsidy

The rent subsidy is aimed at people with low incomes. There are a few criteria you’ll need to fulfill to qualify:

• You’ve recently lost your classification as a homeless person
  or
  you’re moving or have recently moved from a poor, non-adapted house to a decent, adapted house.
• You’re renting the new property on the private rental market or from a social-letting agency.

In Flanders, waste is usually divided or sorted so that as much material as possible is recycled, reused or repaired, and dangerous or chemical wastes are kept separate from other kinds of waste. Makes a lot of sense.

What if you’re unsure which waste belongs where? Don’t stress. Bettersorting.be(opens in new window) is a website ;that explains where everything from Pringles tubes to coffee capsules belong. You may still be wondering when and where your recyclable packaging, paper and cardboard, residual waste, green waste and other materials are collected in your municipality. Every municipality - or an inter-communal association - makes decisions about what, how, where and when waste is collected. You might expect this would lead to a lot of confusion, but every municipality also creates a free calender (in Dutch)(opens in new window) to keep you informed of what to put out for collection and when.

Recycling

What do you do with an empty plastic ice-cream container? And what about aluminium foil? The Fost Plus website tells you which recyclable materials belong together:

• glass(opens in new window)
• paper and cardboard(opens in new window)
• PMD(opens in new window) materials (plastic packaging, metal packaging and drink cartons)
• VGF (in Dutch)(opens in new window) (vegetable, fruit, garden and green waste)
• small hazardous waste (in Dutch)(opens in new window) such as fuel, paint and chemicals, but also smoke detectors and nitrate films
• waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE): large household appliances, refrigerators and freezers, televisions and monitors and other small appliances.
  The good news? If you buy a new appliance, you’re allowed to return the appliance being replaced to the shop or retailer free of charge. If you do not buy a new appliance and your appliance is broken, you can take it to the recycling park. Often, there are collection containers at different shops for small WEEE (< 25 cm).
• residual waste (in Dutch)(opens in new window).

Where to buy waste sorting bags

Flanders does not charge a standard rate for collecting waste. Instead, you’re charged for the specific bags the waste needs to be in to be collected. You’re usually able to purchase these bags from the municipal offices, supermarkets and even hardware stores. What kind of bags do you need?

• Yellow bags are for residual household waste.
• Blue bags are for recyclable PMD packaging.
• Green bags are for vegetable, fruit and garden waste, but in some cases, you’re required to use a VGF waste container.

Free collection of certain waste materials

There are certain waste materials you can dispose of for free. In some cases, the municipality may arrange collections a few times a year, while in other cases, you’ll have to bring the material to a container park (in Dutch)(opens in new window) yourself:

• asbestos cement waste (a limited quantity)
• small hazardous waste (KGA)
• batteries
• car batteries
• mineral oils
• deep-frying fats and oils
• fluorescent lamps
• smoke detectors
• waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

Metal waste and textile waste are also usually collected free of charge because of their value. Meanwhile, there are different options for old car tyres (in Dutch)(opens in new window) and separate collection points for solar panels (in Dutch)(opens in new window).