Flemish rent decree approved: three months rent guarantee
If you want to rent a house, you will have to pay three months rent guarantee from 2019 instead of two. The government approved these new provisions and will take effect on 1 January 2019. The new lease decree is a bundling of rules between landlords and tenants. The tenant counts on a certain housing security and the landlord wants a stable return on his part. By introducing this increased guarantee, the chance of default or rent damage is reduced. Critics feared, however, that this would have a threshold-increasing effect on potential new tenants.
The new lease decree also led to a long discussion whereby certain parties insisted on the introduction of an interest-free rental guarantee loan. That loan rental loan also comes. It is an anonymous and interest-free loan for tenants and an instrument that allows them to conclude a lease with a private tenant and thus promotes their access to the private rental market. It is a system whereby the tenant can repay the loan in two years and is possibly renewable for six months. The tenant must meet the required conditions. The hired person is not allowed to occupy immovable property and must meet the income conditions for the modest rent.
The new decree also contains several new rules that promote both tenant and landlords. The landlord can only index the rent on the condition that he makes energy-saving investments. Thus, landlords encouraged to make their homes more energy-efficient. Operating costs, such as the costs of a lift or the maintenance of common parts are at the expense of the tenant. He is also responsible for repairs due to damage he has caused himself. Furthermore, the lease of nine years remains the rule. Rental contracts of short duration remain possible but can now be explicitly canceled by the tenant. And if a house does not meet the quality standards, the tenant can have the rental agreement declared invalid and he can demand the reimbursement of rental fees.
The decree also regulates the lease agreements for student accommodation and the rules have also been adapted to new forms of cohabitation. For example, specific provisions have been included regarding co-hiring (eg arrangements for divorces, new cohabiting partners, cohabiting partners, cohabitation with friends, etc.). These matters were lacking in the former federal lease legislation that has now become a regional authority.
