Documents required to sell a house or flat in Belgium
To sell a home in Belgium you always need an energy performance certificate (EPC), an inspection of the electrical installation, a soil certificate and planning information. Flanders adds the asbestos certificate (asbestattest) for buildings built before 2001.
Choose the region and describe the property: the list updates with the official prices, how long each document is valid and what happens if one is missing.
Your 8 documents to sell (Flanders)
EPC certificateRequired
Required from the moment the property is put up for sale, issued by an accredited energy expert. For a sale it must date from 2019 or later. Valid 10 years. The listing must state the score or label. Without an EPC the fine ranges from €500 to €5,000.
Electrical installation inspectionRequired
Required if the installation has not been declared compliant since 1 October 1981. A body accredited by the FPS Economy carries out the inspection, and the report goes to the buyer at the deed. If the report is negative, the buyer has 18 months to bring the installation up to standard.
Soil certificate (bodemattest)Required
Required when the sale agreement is signed, for a house as well as a flat. Issued by OVAM, usually requested by the notary. Price since 1 January 2026: €73.05 for a whole plot. Valid for a single transfer.
Asbestos certificate (asbestattest)Required
Required since 23 November 2022 for a building built before 2001, at the latest when the sale agreement is signed. A certified expert carries out the inventory and OVAM issues the certificate (€59 fee, plus the expert's price). Usually valid 10 years. Without it, the buyer can ask for the sale to be annulled.
Planning information (vastgoedinformatie)Required
Required: permits, any planning breaches, pre-emption rights, subdivision rules. Requested through the Vastgoedinformatieplatform and completed by the municipality, which sets the price. No more than one year old at the sale. The listing must include certain statements, without abbreviations online.
Flood risk informationRequired
The listing and the deed must state the flood score of the plot and, where relevant, of the building. It can be read free of charge on the official map of flood-prone areas.
Cadastral dataRequired
The seller must have a cadastral extract: plot number, area, cadastral income.
Protected heritageGood to know
If the property is protected or listed in the heritage inventory, the seller must say so. The Onroerend Erfgoed inventory can be checked online free of charge.
Not needed for this property
- Post-intervention file: not needed if the building dates from before May 2001 and no contractor has worked on it since.
This list follows the official texts as of 24 September 2026. Your notary confirms what applies to your sale.
Who orders the documents, and who pays?
The seller. The notary requests some of them (soil certificate, planning information), but the costs remain with the seller. Order the EPC before putting the property up for sale: the listing must already state its label.
How long should you allow?
Allow a few weeks. In Flanders the soil certificate arrives within 14 days if OVAM holds no data on the plot, within 60 days otherwise. Planning information depends on the municipality, and some are running late.
What changes in 2026
In Wallonia a new EPB certificate model has applied since 1 September 2026; older certificates remain valid until they expire. In Flanders the soil certificate has cost €73.05 since 1 January 2026, and every co-ownership must hold an asbestos certificate for the common parts by 31 December 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Sources: vlaanderen.be, OVAM, energie.wallonie.be, wallonie.be (BDES, CoDT), Brussels Environment, City of Brussels, FPS Economy, be.brussels. Checked on 24 September 2026.