Selling your house without an estate agent: the Belgian legal obligations

Selling your house without an estate agent is perfectly legal in Belgium, but the Belgian legal obligations that fall on the seller do not change. Certificates, attestations, details in the advertisement, information to pass on to the prospective buyer: it all stays your responsibility. Here are the documents to gather before you publish your first advertisement, the points where a mistake becomes expensive, and the moment the notary steps in.

No licence required, but every responsibility

An owner may sell their own property themselves. The IPI licence only concerns people who sell or negotiate on behalf of a third party. As soon as you sell a friend's property for payment, you enter a regulated profession.

By doing without a professional, you take on every task: putting the file together, guaranteeing the accuracy of the information, organising the viewings, screening candidates, negotiating and following the file through to the deed. The legal part remains the most delicate. Many sellers assume the notary will correct any gaps. The notary does check, but at the time of the compromis, so after the advertisement has been published and often after the verbal agreement with a buyer. A certificate missing at that stage delays the sale by several weeks.

If the sheer volume of formalities puts you off, you can compare several agencies before you decide. Nothing commits you at this stage.

The certificates and attestations to gather

The list depends on the region and the type of property, but the core is stable:

• the PEB certificate, drawn up by an accredited assessor and valid for ten years. It must exist before the property is put up for sale, not at the time of the compromis.
• the inspection of the electrical installation by an accredited body, for residential units.
• the soil attestation: OVAM in Flanders, the soil condition database in Wallonia, Brussels Environment in the Brussels Region.
• the post-intervention file for work carried out since 2001.
• the town planning information from the municipality: zoning, permits granted, any infringements.
• in a co-ownership, the documents from the managing agent: articles of association, minutes of the general meetings, statement of charges and of the reserve fund.
• depending on the region and the installation, the attestations relating to the fuel oil tank or the boiler inspection.

Waiting times range from a few days to several weeks. Ask your notary for the list that applies to you as soon as the decision to sell is made, even before you photograph the rooms. That is the best way to avoid a compromis held up for want of one attestation.

What your advertisement must state

A private advertisement is bound by the same rules as an agency advertisement. The data from the PEB certificate must appear in it, in the form imposed by your region: energy label, specific consumption, certificate number. A classified ads site that does not provide these fields exempts you from nothing.

The Code of Economic Law prohibits any misleading information towards a consumer. That covers the advertised surface area, the year of construction, the condition of the roof, the existence of a town planning infringement. A retouched photo that hides a crack or a damp mark falls into the same category. In the event of a dispute, the advertisement serves as evidence.

Then there is the price. Without an agency, nobody corrects you if you aim too high, and a property that sits still for three months loses its new listing effect. Start from a figure you can defend: a free valuation gives you a range to set against recent sales in your street.

From compromis to deed: what binds you

In Belgium, the compromis de vente amounts to the sale itself. Once both signatures are on it, you are bound, subject to the conditions precedent provided for, obtaining the loan first among them. Many sellers assume a cooling off period exists as it does for an online purchase. Outside those conditions precedent, you do not withdraw from a signed compromis.

So have the compromis drawn up, or at the very least read over, by a notary. A document signed on the corner of a table binds you as much as a deed prepared by a notary's office. Check the financial capacity of the candidate: a written agreement in principle from the bank is worth more than a verbal promise. Between the compromis and the notarial deed a registration deadline then runs, and exceeding it brings charges. Your notary calculates that deadline and passes it on to you. Cash deposits are also capped by law and are normally paid into the notary's third party account.

A seller who prefers to delegate this phase can compare the fees and services of three agencies in their municipality before signing anything.

Your liability continues after signature

The seller is liable for hidden defects, those non visible faults that make the property unfit for its use. An exemption clause appears in almost every compromis, but it does not protect a seller who knew about the problem and said nothing. A recurring leak, a boiler out of service, an extension built without a permit: these are declared in writing, as an annex to the compromis.

The same logic applies to the context: an ongoing neighbour dispute, an easement, a location in a flood zone, a known infrastructure project. An unwelcome piece of information passed on before signature is better than a court action two years later.

On the tax side, a quick resale can trigger capital gains taxation, with exemptions notably for your own home. The conditions depend on your situation and on how long you have held the property. Have them confirmed by your notary before you set your price, not after the sale.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell my house without an estate agent in Belgium?

Yes. Any owner may sell their own property without a licence. The IPI licence is required only to sell or negotiate a third party's property for payment. Your obligations as a seller, on the other hand, remain identical to those of a sale through an agency.

Which documents must I provide if I sell without an agency?

At the very least the PEB certificate, the inspection of the electrical installation, the soil attestation for your region, the post-intervention file for work carried out since 2001, the municipal town planning information and, in a co-ownership, the documents from the managing agent. Your notary will confirm the exact list according to the region and the type of property.

Must the PEB certificate exist before the advertisement is published?

Yes. The PEB certificate must be drawn up before the property is put up for sale and its data must appear in the advertisement, in the form imposed by your region. Publishing without those details exposes you to a penalty.

Can I cancel a compromis de vente signed between private individuals?

No, unless a condition precedent provided for in the contract is not met, for example the buyer being refused credit. The compromis amounts to the sale from the moment it is signed. Have your situation checked by a notary before taking any step.

Weighing the real workload before you start

Selling without an agency remains a defensible option for a sought after property, in a municipality where demand exceeds supply, when you have time during the day for viewings. The administrative load, however, is not negotiable: it is identical to a professional's, without the reflexes of the trade.

ImmoMakelaarVergelijker.be compares the accredited estate agents active in your municipality and puts you in touch with three of them at most, free of charge and without obligation. Many owners first do the rounds of the agencies in their region, then decide with full knowledge of the facts. Running both approaches in parallel costs nothing.