Ban on cafe terrace heaters in Brussels postponed

The Brussels parliament has voted to postpone a ban on cafe patio heaters in the capital, which was originally due to come into force in June, by one year.

The ban is part of a wider energy and climate plan, the draft of which was approved by a narrow majority of eight votes to seven in the parliament's environment committee.

The final text will still have to be adopted at the plenary session, Bruzz reports, but faced significant criticism for how it would affect the already beleaguered hospitality sector.

“We should not further burden the catering industry and consumers,” said Gaëtan Van Goidsenhoven (MR).

In addition to patio heaters, the proposal covers other energy-saving measures including requiring shops and offices to switch off lights between 22.00 and 6.00 if no work is being done, and heated shops would be obliged to close their doors.

Exceptions are included for late-night businesses such as night shops and on-call pharmacies, and mayors will also be able to define areas where the ban will not apply for safety reasons.

Mathias Vanden Borre (N-VA) called the measures insufficiently substantiated, adding: “What is its impact and why is it necessary? A city should live, and lighting and heating is part of that.”

The hospitality sector was also unhappy with the initiative.

“For a lot of operators, terrace heaters are an important source of income during the winter months,” Brussels Catering Federation chairman Mathieu Léonard told Bruzz.

The ordinance stems from a European directive committed to energy saving and while many in the Brussels environment committee support the proposal’s aims, they took issue with the timing.

Mounir Laarissi (Les Engagés) added an amendment that would make the ban on patio heaters in the hospitality industry effective at the earliest on 1 June 2026, giving the hospitality sector time to prepare.