Shared housing

Shared housing means renting the same home to several tenants who each have their own room and share common areas. In Wallonia, the shared lease is a single contract signed by all the co-tenants, who also sign a co-tenancy agreement among themselves (decree of 15 March 2018). They are jointly liable: the landlord can claim the full rent from any one of them. A co-tenant who wants to leave gives three months' notice to the landlord and the other co-tenants. If there is no accepted replacement, they owe the other co-tenants compensation equal to three times their share of the rent. In Brussels, the shared housing rules of the Brussels Housing Code apply if the parties choose them. They also provide for a single lease, a co-tenancy agreement and joint liability. A co-tenant can leave with two months' notice. They must look for a replacement, and their obligations end no later than six months after their notice period. Flanders has no specific shared housing rules in its decree of 9 November 2018. A landlord can also rent each room under a separate lease. For investors, the total rent from the rooms is often higher than the rent for the same home let to a single household. University cities (Louvain-la-Neuve, Ghent, Brussels, Liege) are the strongest markets. Note: dividing a home into rooms may require a planning permit.