Search Q&A
Indexing the rent
To calculate the new rent go the following link https://huurcalculator.statbel.fgov.be/NI/indicators/cpi/rent_nl.asp
The rent is usually indexed every year and at 850 it is about 15 a month.
Remember, you can backdate the indexation, but only for up to 3 months.
Also remember that you can't just index whenever you want, you can only apply indexation to the rent at the renewal date of the contract (or up to three months later).
MICHELE - no idea how you did your calculation, but the indexation rate is something around 2%, so the maximum you could increase is around €17.
Your number looks much more like what you should be getting if you had indexed the rent annually for the past 3-4 years. You can't do that. If you have decided not to index in previous years that's your tough luck.
Anon, what you are saying is not correct.
"you can only apply indexation to the rent at the renewal date of the contract (or up to three months later)."
No, the landlord can apply the indexation on the renewal date or at any time after that. So if the landlord forgets the indexation, they can do it let's say ten months after the correct data. But they can only ask for backdated increased rent for 3 months max.
"Your number looks much more like what you should be getting if you had indexed the rent annually for the past 3-4 years. You can't do that. If you have decided not to index in previous years that's your tough luck."
Not correct. The landlord can decide not to index the rent for years and years, and then do the indexation, and it is always the latest index which applies. So if the indexation has not been done for many years, the rent increase can be quite significant. However this is perfectly legal. And as the backdated rent can only be asked for max three months, this kind of situation would be a real gift for the tenant. They have enjoyed a cheaper rent for many years.
Michelle does not say where the apartment is, and when it was rented, but I tested the calculator with an apartment in Brussels, lease signed in October 2014, and indeed the rent would increase from 850 EUR to 913,37 EUR in one go.
Which amounts to an increase of about €15 per month per year.
I don't think you have filled in the details correctly.
I have just run the program assuming that the rental agreement was originally signed in August 2013 and that the tenant moved in in November 2013 and that the apartment is in Brussels.
The rental which you are allowed to charge from November 2018 is €918.04.
The fact that you have not indexed the rent over the last 5 years does not mean that you are now only allowed to index it for one year. It only means that you cannot backdate the new rate for the past years.
"My tenant has indeed got off cheaply without any backdating, not even the three legal months".
It's not up to tenants to chase landlords and have their rent increased. You had the option of doing it or not doing it. You chose the second.
Sometimes I do not apply the annual increase since the indexation/inflation was rather low in the last few years, but i made sure my tenants were aware of the gesture. A happy (paying) tenant makes a happy landlord.
