The entry and exit inventory: the document that protects you

There is a sentence justices of the peace hear every month: "The property was spotless when he moved in, I promise you." It is worth nothing. What is worth something is a dated, precise document signed by both parties. Without it, the case is lost before it is argued.

1. Why this document decides everything

The principle is simple: the rental deposit is not your money. It is a blocked sum belonging to the tenant, and it comes to you only if you prove damage for which they are liable. That proof is not a photo taken on the way out: it is the comparison between the exit condition and the entry condition.

Without a detailed entry inventory, how do you show that the stain on the parquet was not there? That the cupboard door was not already cracked? That the wall was not already drilled? All three Regions apply the same rule: where there is no detailed entry inventory, the tenant is presumed to have received the property in the state in which they return it. Evidence to the contrary remains possible, but it is up to you to provide it, and without a document it rarely convinces. Prove nothing, get nothing.

That is why the inventory is mandatory in all three Regions: Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders each impose, in their own text, a detailed, joint inventory drawn up at shared cost. It is not optional, and it is not the caution of a suspicious landlord: it is the law.

2. "Joint": what that really means

Joint means that both parties draw it up together, or that they appoint an expert by mutual agreement to do so. Both read it, both may challenge it, both sign it.

An inventory written by you alone and emailed to the tenant "for information" is not an inventory. It is your opinion, and it binds only you.

Two options:

• Amicably, between you and the tenant. Free, but demanding: you must be methodical, take the time, and accept writing down the defects that embarrass you too.
• By an expert appointed by mutual agreement. They produce a neutral, technical document. The fee is then split in half between the parties. This is the reasonable choice for a valuable property, a new or fully renovated one (where the slightest deviation will show), or when relations are strained. Each party may also bring an expert of their own, whom they then pay alone.

When. The three regional texts open the same window: the inventory is drawn up while the property is unoccupied, or during the first month of occupation. If the other party drags their feet or refuses, you can ask the justice of the peace to appoint an expert; in Wallonia, the application must be filed within fifteen days of the end of that first month. After that, nobody can be compelled to do it any more: do not let that month slip by.

Afterwards. The inventory is annexed to the lease and registered, together with the lease or later. For a dwelling, registration is free and is the landlord's duty; the lease itself must be registered within two months of signature, online via MyRent (FPS Finance). In Brussels, residential leases must also be registered, since 1 January 2025, on the regional platform Irisrent. The details are in our guide to lease registration.

During the lease. If significant changes are made to the property (new kitchen, partition removed), either party may require an addendum to the inventory, drawn up in the same way.

3. What it must contain

An inventory that says "good general condition" is a useless inventory. What protects you is detail.

Room by room

For each room, describe every surface and every fitting: floors, walls, ceilings, skirting boards, doors and handles, windows, frames, shutters, radiators, switches and sockets, light fittings, cupboards, worktops, sanitary ware, seals, taps.

And above all: be precise in your wording. "4 cm scratch on the right-hand door jamb, 1 m from the floor" is worth infinitely more than "damaged door". A year later, nobody will remember what "damaged" meant.

Dated photos

One photo per observation, taken close up, plus one overview photo per room. They must be dated and attached to the document, not scattered across a phone: number them, refer to their numbers in the text, and attach them as a signed annex or in a shared folder of which both parties keep a copy. This is where an amicable inventory catches up with an expert's report fastest.

Meter readings

Electricity (day and night rates where applicable), gas, water, and the heating oil left in the tank, if there is one. Note the meter numbers, not just the readings, and photograph each dial: that is what saves you months of argument with a supplier. In Brussels, where the dwelling has individual meters, the entry and exit inventories must in fact include the readings, the meter numbers and the EAN codes (water, gas, electricity).

Keys and equipment

Number of keys handed over (front door, letterbox, cellar, bike store, fob). Presence and condition of the smoke detectors. Date of the last boiler service. Manuals and certificates handed over.

Some peer-to-peer rental sites now build this step in: on Domilinko, a Belgian rental platform with no intermediary, the entry and exit inventory is done room by room, backed by photos and meter readings. Whatever the tool, paper or app, the rule does not change: a detailed, dated document, signed by both parties, each of whom keeps a copy.

4. The exit inventory: the comparison

At the end of the lease you repeat the exercise, with the entry document in front of you, room by room, line by line. In Brussels, either party may require a joint exit inventory, at shared cost, drawn up after the tenant has left and before the keys are handed back, at the latest within a month of the property being vacated; if the parties disagree, the justice of the peace can be asked, before the keys are returned, to appoint an expert. A discrepancy: note it, photograph it, cost it where possible.

Then comes the only real question: fair wear and tear, or tenant damage?

• Fair wear and tear results from normal use of the property and the mere passage of time. It is your cost, and you may deduct nothing for it. Dulled paint after six years, a yellowed bath seal, a carpet worn in the walkway, a patinated worktop: that is the life of an inhabited home.
• Tenant damage results from fault, negligence or failure to maintain. A hole in the partition, cracked tiles, mould caused by a lack of ventilation, a burn on the worktop, a forced door: for that the tenant is liable.

The line is not always sharp, and what shifts it is time. Paint has a lifespan; after eight years of occupation its residual value is low, and even if the tenant did damage it, you do not claim brand-new paint: you apply a depreciation for age and wear. Wallonia even publishes an indicative depreciation grid giving a reference lifespan for each item. Claiming 100 % of the cost of an item at the end of its life is the surest way to lose before the justice of the peace, and to lose along with it the part of your file that was solid. For the detailed split of works between landlord and tenant, see our guide repairs: who pays for what?.

5. Releasing the deposit

The rental deposit is most often placed on a blocked account in the tenant's name (maximum amounts and options differ between the three Regions: see our guide to the rental deposit). It is released only with the written agreement of both parties, or by court decision.

In other words: without agreement, you take nothing unilaterally. Which makes the exit conversation decisive, and a well-documented file unanswerable.

If disagreement persists, the competent forum is the justice of the peace for the place where the property is located. Before any trial, you can ask them by simple letter for a conciliation, which is free; many disputes settle there. Few settle in favour of the party with no document.

Compatri does not rent out housing and plays no part in your lease: this guide helps you understand your rights and find the right people to turn to. Deadlines, maximum deposit amounts and the rules for releasing the deposit differ between Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders: check the rule in force with your Region's official source.

Official sources

• Brussels: inventory of fixtures : deadlines, expert, addendum and exit inventory in the Brussels Region.
• Flanders: het sluiten van de huurovereenkomst : the inventory and its registration in Flanders (in Dutch).
• Wallonia: l'état des lieux d'entrée : the Walloon rules, on the SPW Logement portal (in French).
• FPS Finance: registering a lease : deadline, free registration and registering the inventory via MyRent.
• Brussels: residential lease registration : the regional Irisrent platform, since 2025.
• Justice of the peace : the court competent for every tenancy dispute, and conciliation (in French).