Renovate
Published on 18 September 20266 min read
EPC renovation obligation in Flanders
The Immolytics editorial team
In the Flemish Region, selling a home with a weak energy label can trigger a renovation obligation. That duty attaches to the sale itself and exists only in Flanders; Brussels and Wallonia work with different rules. Below you can read what this means for your purchase, your sale and your budget.
What does the renovation obligation on sale in Flanders involve?
In the Flemish Region, the sale of a home with a weak EPC can create a renovation obligation: the new owner must renovate the property within the period set by the Flemish government. The obligation therefore attaches to the transaction and to the energy label, not to a general rule covering every home.
For the buyer, that means an extra item in the planning. The works must be done within the applicable period, and the financing has to cover them. For the seller, it means the EPC plays a role in the negotiation: a weak label gives buyers an argument to bring the expected works into the price.
In practice it comes down to three questions. What label does the home have? Which works are needed to improve that label? And within what period must those works be finished? The answer to the first question is in the EPC, the answer to the second in the renovation advice and in quotes from contractors, and the answer to the third in the Flemish rules.
Because those rules can change, check the current position before you sign. An overview of the rules per region is on the page about the renovation obligation in Belgium.
Does the renovation obligation also apply in Brussels and Wallonia?
No. The renovation obligation triggered by a sale exists only in the Flemish Region. The other two regions work with different instruments, and it is a common mistake to apply the Flemish rule to the whole country.
In the Brussels-Capital Region, the region sets performance targets per dwelling, with its own calendar. Those targets are not tied to a sale: you can buy or sell a property in Brussels without a renovation obligation following from it.
In the Walloon Region, the PEB certificate is mandatory when a home is sold or rented out. No renovation obligation with a deadline is attached to it.
Anyone buying or selling in more than one region should check which rule applies where. A home in Flanders, an apartment in Brussels and a house in Wallonia each follow their own framework, even though it is the same Belgian market.
What is an EPC and why does it weigh so heavily in a sale?
The EPC is the energy performance certificate of a home. It gives a label, an energy score and recommendations for renovation, and it is the document that lets buyers compare the energy performance of two properties side by side.
The certificate states how the home performs on insulation, glazing, heating and ventilation. The label tells you in a single letter how well or how poorly the property scores. The recommendations show which measures improve the label fastest, and in what order you should tackle them.
For a sale, the EPC is the starting point of every conversation about price. A buyer who reads the certificate immediately sees which works to expect in the first years. That explains why a weak label often leads to a lower offer or a longer time on the market.
How to read the document is set out step by step in the explanation of the EPC energy performance certificate. Anyone who wants to go deeper into labels, scores and validity will find the full background in the complete guide to the EPC. An example of how such a page is built up per municipality is on the page about the EPC in Eeklo.
How do you estimate the cost of a renovation?
Start with the EPC: the recommendations give the order of the works. Then list what is needed per item, split the works into phases if the budget is limited, and ask contractors for prices before you make an offer.
In practice the biggest items are the roof, the windows, the heating, the insulation and the ventilation. Some measures produce a bigger jump in the label than others; the renovation advice in the EPC helps you choose between them. Always allow a margin for unforeseen works, because older homes often reveal more than planned.
Grants exist at regional level. They depend on the invoice and on criteria that differ per region and per measure, so always check the conditions of the region where the property is located. An overview of the Flemish schemes is on the page about renovation grants in Flanders. With the renovation calculator you list the items, and with the energy comparison tool you compare consumption and costs before and after the works.
How does the renovation obligation affect the value of your home?
A weak EPC costs money at the sale, also outside Flanders. Buyers factor the works they expect into their offer, and in Flanders the legal obligation comes on top of that. A home with a good label generally sells faster and with a smaller discount.
To know what your home is worth, start from the figures per region. The Flemish property market in figures shows the direction of the market, and the provincial pages for East Flanders and West Flanders give the detail per municipality. The trends and prices on the Flemish property market put those figures in context.
If you are unsure about the asking price, first make your own estimate using the explanation on estimating the value of a property. Investors also look at public auctions: the supply in East Flanders and West Flanders shows which properties come under the hammer, often with a renovation job attached. The combination of a weak label and an auction price makes the difference between a profitable and an expensive purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Does the renovation obligation also apply in Brussels and Wallonia?
No, the renovation obligation triggered by a sale exists only in the Flemish Region. Brussels sets performance targets per dwelling, separate from any sale, and in Wallonia the PEB certificate is mandatory at sale and at rental, without a renovation obligation carrying a deadline.
Do I have to renovate if I buy a home with a poor EPC?
It depends on the region where the property is located and on the label stated in the EPC. In Flanders, a weak label can create a renovation obligation on sale, with a period set by the Flemish government; outside Flanders that sale-linked obligation does not exist.
Who carries out the renovation works after a sale with a renovation obligation?
The obligation follows the property after the sale, and the owner at the time of the works carries out the works and bears the cost. In practice this is negotiated at the offer stage: the buyer takes the expected cost into account, and the seller may decide to renovate before the sale, which benefits the label and the saleability.
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