Are you a (future) tenant, landlord, buyer, seller or mover? In all cases, be sure that the house or apartment meets housing quality standards. But what exactly are these standards? Below you can read all about it.
Contents
- What are housing quality standards?
- What is a conformity assessment?
- Technical Report
- Who executes it?
- What housing quality standards must your home meet?
- What is the legal minimum size of a home?
- Area standard: minimum area
- Minimum ceiling height
- The occupancy standard: maximum number of residents
1. What are housing quality standards?
The housing quality standards are minimum quality requirements that every home, both independent (such as an apartment, etc.) and non-independent homes (rooms), in Flanders must meet. This is confirmed or refuted in the conformity study. The standards deal with safety, health and basic comfort. These standards are laid down in the Flemish Housing Codex. Important: If you want to rent out a property, it must meet the housing quality standards. If it does not meet them, you as a landlord are liable to penalties.
2. What is a compliance investigation?
A compliance review confirms or disproves that a home meets housing quality standards. A home inspector evaluates your home on site using these standards (jump to home quality standards).
2.1. Technisch verslag
The technical report is a checklist. The inspector indicates defects in a home in this report. The list of defects are divided into 3 categories:
- Category I: Minor Defects. A property may have a maximum of 6 Category I defects to be compliant.
- Category II: Serious defects without immediate danger to safety or health. A home must not have any Category II defects to be compliant.
- Category III: Serious defects with demeaning living conditions or immediate danger to health and safety. The inspector declares the home unfit and uninhabitable. You may then not rent out, let or make the property available. This is punishable by law.
Note: 7 defects of category I, count together as one defect of category II. In this case, the home is unfit. You need a separate technical report for the homes listed below:
- (student) rooms (model contract PDF).
- self-contained housing such as single-family homes, apartments and studios(model contract PDF).
- rooms for seasonal workers(model contract PDF).
- housing for temporary workers(model contract PDF).
2.2. Wie voert het uit?
The municipality usually conducts the compliance investigation. It does this in the event that the landlord asks for a certificate or if a resident suspects that his home is not in order. A housing inspector from Wonen-Vlaanderen performs it at:
- rent subsidy application.
- hiring by a social rental agency.
- request second opinion of certificate of conformity.
- criminal enforcement by the Flemish Housing Inspectorate.
- advice for the municipality regarding a procedure: unfitness and uninhabitability.
3. What housing quality standards must your home meet?
A home inspection (also called a compliance inspection), indicates whether a home meets all standards. The inspection is done on site by a home inspector who conducts the examination based on a technical report.
3.1. Gezondheid
- no moisture problems.
- supply of potable water.
- possibility of safe ventilation.
- adequate natural lighting.
3.2. Veiligheid
- safe stairs.
- sufficient smoke detectors.
- secure access to your home.
- safe gas and heating systems, without CO hazard.
- safe electrical installations for lighting and the use of electrical appliances.
3.3. Structurele stabiliteit van het gebouw
- stable and solid roof, solid exterior walls and (load-bearing) interior walls and floors.
3.4. Een minimum aan comfort
- Good condition of windows and doors.
- finished walls, ceilings and floors.
- presence cooking facilities and potable water.
- easy access and respect for privacy.
- adequate plumbing: proper toilet, tub or shower available, running water connected to a drain (without odor nuisance).
3.5. Minimale energetische prestaties
- double glazing and minimal roof insulation.
- spacious enough in terms of living area and ceiling height; there is a legal minimum size for this.
4. What is the legal minimum size of a home?
The minimum size of a home depends on the area of your home, the height of your ceiling and the number of occupants.
4.1. Oppervlaktenorm: minimale oppervlakte
The area standard of an independent dwelling is a total minimum net floor area of 18 m². For this, only living spaces such as living room, kitchen and bedrooms count. The surface standard of a room is a total minimum net floor area of 12 m².
Exceptions for independent residences and rooms built or licensed before 1/10/216 that do not meet the standard:
- bathroom area counts (maximum 3 m²).
- housing area is increased by 2 m², if a wall unit with folding bed is installed as a structural space-saving measure;
or if a high sleeper of min. 2 m² is installed as a structural space-saving measure. An additional condition is that there is a clear height of 180 cm below the high sleeper, and 100 cm above the high sleeper.
Are you (re)renting a student room? Then different standards apply. Here, an area of 12 square meters is sufficient. Even if there is a kitchen or bath/shower.
4.2. Minimale hoogte van het plafond
Living spaces are required to be at least 220 cm high. Although there are exceptions for sloping roofs.
4.3. De bezettingsnorm: maximaal aantal bewoners
The occupancy standard is calculated based on the net floor area and the number of living spaces. You can find the occupancy standard in the technical report. Your home is officially unoccupied if it is not adapted to your physical capabilities. And it is overcrowded if the occupancy standard is exceeded, to the extent that it poses a health or safety risk.
Sources: DuurzaamWonen, City of Ghent, Flanders & WoonPlus
Would you like to cite this article as a source? Then use:
Vastmans, J. (2024, Nov. 24). Housing quality standards according to legislation. . Appartement.be. Geraadpleegd op (datum XX/XX/202X), van https://www.appartement.be/woningkwaliteitsnormen/
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