Buying a house in Brussels to become more tax-efficient from 1 April

In an attempt to strengthen home-buyers' position in a city facing a housing crisis, Brussels has increased its tax relief on property purchases - from €175,000 to €200,000 - making buying a house in the capital more tax-efficient.

Set to take effect on 1 April, the increase allows buyers to save €25,000 in registration fees on the first tranche of €200,000.

The reduction applies to the registration duties when buying a first home or building plot. For a family home, people were originally offered a discount of €21,875 compared to the €25,000 being offered beginning April.

The hope is to give more Brussels families access to housing.

Also towards that same end, the current ceiling of €500,000 to benefit from a tax break will be raised to €600,000, so even those buying a €600,000 home will still be entitled to a tax cut.

For building land, a reduction currently applies to purchases up to €87,50, which will be raised to €100,000 on 1 April.

There will also be an additional allowance for major energy renovations, amounting to €25,000 for each energy class improvement achieved. The number of energy class improvements the parties commit to must be at least two.

The conditions for entitlement to the tax reduction will also be relaxed. Those who want to qualify for an allowance will have to move into the house within three years (instead of two years). For buyers applying for an additional energy efficiency allowance, the deadline for occupancy will be extended to five years.

Finally, buyers who do not continue to live in their home for five years will no longer have to repay the full premium, but an amount adjusted according to the number of years they have lived in their home.

The new, more advantageous regime is part of the reform of registration fees approved by the Brussels parliament last January.