Lease registration, how do you get started? Anyone who wants to rent or let a property always needs a rental agreement. Such a lease is an important piece of evidence that serves as something to hold on to, should a dispute ever arise with your (re)tenant. Once your lease is drawn up and signed, it also needs to be registered . Find out how and why to register a lease:
Contents
- What does lease registration entail?
- Why register a lease?
- Tenant protection
- Landlord/owner protection
- What if the landlord does not register the contract (in a timely manner)?
- Lease registration: what are the requirements?
- How can I register a lease?
What does lease registration entail?
The registration of your lease, means that landlord registers the contract with the competent registration office. The office writes the most important details of the lease into the registry. Once the registration is complete, you will receive a stamp on your paper lease for confirmation or find the contract online on MyMinfin. A lease or agreement must be on paper and signed in writing by both the tenant and the landlord. Afterwards, both parties must have an original copy in their hands.
Why register a lease?
It is mandatory. After registration, the lease has a fixed date. That is, the date the contract was entered into is uncontested from that moment on and the contract is binding on the tenant, the landlord, and third parties. This is in the interest of both the tenant and the landlord:
Tenant protection
A registered lease is especially important to tenants if the building where they rent something is sold to someone else. It legally protects you as a tenant from eviction should your rental property be sold. The new owner must continue to abide by the contract you signed and all the agreements it contained.
- Suppose:
- You sign a lease for an apartment. At some point, your landlord sells the building your apartment is part of to someone else. You then rent your apartment from the new owner. The new owner cannot then evict you – thanks to a registered lease – just like that. He or she is bound by the registered lease and has the same rights and obligations as the previous owner/landlord.
Landlord/owner protection
Have your tenants signed a lease for a period of three years or more? Then, thanks to the registration of the lease, they are obliged to respect a notice period if they terminate the lease early. Legally, this principle is called “landlord protection.
What if the landlord does not register the contract (in a timely manner)?
- The landlord will be fined 25 euros (source: Smovin).
- If it is a primary residence with a contract with duration of more than 3 years: The tenant can terminate the contract without notice or compensation. The termination will then take effect on the first day of the month after the tenant gives notice.
- If it is a primary residence that is being sold: The new owner can evict the tenant from the house.
- If it is a property that is rented partly for housing and other purposes (such as store, office), the owner is taxed based on the total amount of net rental income.
Lease registration: what are the requirements?
For lease registration, the lease must meet requirements. Below is a short checklist of what should definitely be in your contract:
- General data of the landlord(s)/owner(s): first name, surname, date and place of birth and address.
- General data of the tenant(s): first name, surname, date and place of birth and address.
- The address and description of the leased property, preferably with the entry of cadastral data.
- The date the lease will start and the duration of the contract. Preferably with start and end dates.
- The rent and any additional costs.
- The date the contract was signed.
- The signatures of both the landlord(s) and tenant(s) on all copies.
Register lease: how do I register it?
Rent contract registration is completely free. How to do this, we explain in our article Rent contract registration in 4 steps.
Sources: Callemepower, Federal Public Service Finance, Smovin & Flanders
Would you like to cite this article as a source? Then use:
N. (2024, Jan. 7). Lease registration: how to get started. Apartment.com. Consulted on (date XX/XX/202X), from https://www.appartement.be/registratie-huurcontract