Short-term letting: what the rules actually say

"Short-term" covers three very different things in Belgian law. Confusing them is the first, and costliest, mistake: you end up running a regulated activity without knowing it.

Compatri does not rent out homes: this guide helps you understand your obligations and find the right people to talk to.

Three regimes not to be confused

For the first case, see our guide to the main-residence lease. This article deals with the third.

Tourist accommodation is a registered activity

In all three Regions, you do not start letting by the night without telling anyone. Each has its own text and its own desk:

• Brussels: the ordinance of 8 May 2014 on tourist accommodation requires prior registration with Brussels Economy and Employment. Operating unregistered accommodation is illegal. The registration number must appear in your listings, together with the accommodation's contact details. Conditions: third-party liability insurance, a fire-safety certificate (renewed every five years), an urban-planning compliance certificate, required even if you let your own main residence, and no convictions for certain offences.
• Wallonia: since 1 July 2025, the new Walloon Tourism Code requires every tourist accommodation to be registered with Tourisme Wallonie (formerly the Commissariat général au Tourisme) before it is let. Registration is free and requires, among other things, a fire-safety certificate (ASI) or simplified inspection certificate (ACS) and a criminal record extract. Protected names (holiday let, guest house…) also require certification.
• Flanders: the Logiesdecreet requires the notification (aanmelding) of any tourist accommodation to Toerisme Vlaanderen, even if you only let one or a few nights a year through a platform. You receive a unique registration number and the accommodation enters a public register. The basic conditions include a fire-safety certificate (the standards depend on the number of units and beds), fire and liability insurance that also covers the business, proof of ownership or a lease allowing you to operate, and compliance with planning rules. Toerisme Vlaanderen carries out spot checks, with fines of up to 25,000 euros. Recognition (erkenning) remains optional.

The common thread: registration + fire safety + insurance + planning. The detail (deadlines, documents, forms) depends on the Region. Start from the official regional source, not from a forum.

The Brussels "90-day rule"

This is the most searched rule, and often misunderstood. In Brussels, any letting from 1 night up to 90 consecutive days falls under the registration requirement, whether the occupants are tourists, students, interns or business travellers. Letting a furnished studio to an intern for two months therefore requires, in principle, registration.

That threshold is not an annual quota of nights: it defines what falls within the regime. An annual cap does exist for one specific category: a furnished tourist let (meublé de tourisme) in the operator's main residence may be operated for 4 months a year at most. And registration remains mandatory even if you only let a few weeks a year.

And the municipality?

This is the point most hosts forget. The municipality can add its own layer, and often does:

• Planning: turning a dwelling into tourist accommodation may amount to a change of use, subject to a planning permit. It is the breach most frequently pursued against urban short-term hosts. Ask the planning department before you invest.
• Night caps: some authorities cap the number of nights per year, especially where you let your own main residence. These limits vary and change.
• Taxes: in Brussels, a regional tax on tourist accommodation establishments is declared to Brussels Fiscality. Elsewhere, tourist taxes and specific municipal levies apply, per night or per unit.

One safe rule: call your municipality and ask, in writing, what applies at your address.

Co-ownership can forbid it

First of all, read the deed of co-ownership and the building regulations. Many buildings impose strictly residential use, or ban tourist accommodation outright. Belgian courts enforce those clauses, and a co-owner or the building manager can obtain an injunction to stop the activity, possibly with a penalty payment.

If you are a tenant, your lease will normally forbid it too: sub-letting short-term without the landlord's written consent is a breach of contract that can get your lease terminated at your fault.

The European layer: Regulation 2024/1028

Since 20 May 2026, Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services has applied. It does not, by itself, create a registration requirement: it frames the authorities that have one. Where registration exists, platforms must display and verify the number, carry out random checks and send the authorities monthly data on nights booked through a single digital entry point.

In Belgium, implementation happens Region by Region:

• Flanders: in June 2026 the Flemish government announced an amendment to the Logiesdecreet. Only accommodation with a Toerisme Vlaanderen registration number will be allowed on platforms, and a municipal offence report will be enough to have a non-compliant accommodation closed.
• Wallonia: adapting the Walloon Tourism Code to the EU regulation was announced for 2026. Check its progress with Tourisme Wallonie.
• Brussels: registration and the number in the listing already exist. Follow Brussels Economy and Employment's announcements for what comes next.

In practice: unregistered accommodation is increasingly detectable, and removable from platforms. Discretion is no longer a strategy.

Tax: three possible characterisations

This is where improvising costs the most. Depending on what you do, the tax authority may treat your income as:

Add to this that platforms report your income to the tax authorities (the EU automatic exchange of information). Do not count on invisibility.

Do this, without exception: speak to an accountant before the first night. One sentence in the contract (the immovable/movable split) and one decision about the services you provide can change your taxation completely.

Short-term or lease: the real arithmetic

The gross is seductive; the net less so.

Illustrative example (textbook figures, recompute for your property):

• On a lease: 750 euros a month = 9,000 euros gross a year. Management: a few hours a year.
• Short-term: 85 euros a night × 60 % occupancy × 365 = 18,615 euros gross.

Then subtract, on short-term:

• the booking platforms' commission;
• cleaning and linen between every stay (the most underestimated line);
• energy, water and internet, included in the price;
• consumables, furniture depreciation, small repairs;
• appropriate insurance, the certificates, accommodation taxes;
• real vacancy (60 % occupancy is already optimistic outside the high season);
• your time: messages, arrivals, incidents, reviews.

Net yield is often still higher in tourist areas, but the gap narrows sharply, variability is high, and regulatory risk is real. A lease, by contrast, gives stable income, light management and a settled legal framework. To cost the lease option, see how to set the rent and let your property. Remember that a classic rental listing must show the energy certificate.

Where to publish your offer

Once you are compliant, you still need to choose where to publish. If you are torn between the two formulas, Domilinko, a Belgian peer-to-peer rental site with no intermediary, handles both long-term rentals and short stays with online booking; its listings show a verified EPC/PEB certificate and the owner's verified identity. Whichever site you choose, regional registration, the number in the listing, fire safety and planning remain your responsibility.

Your checklist before the first night

This article gives general bearings, up to date as of September 2026. The exact rule depends on your Region and your municipality, and it changes fast in this area. Always check the sources below and your municipal administration before you start.

Official sources

• Tourist accommodation for private individuals (Brussels Economy and Employment): registration, certificates and obligations in Brussels
• Registering tourist accommodation (be.brussels): the regional procedure step by step
• Gérer un hébergement touristique (Tourisme Wallonie, in French): registration and certification in Wallonia
• Aanmelding en erkenning van een toeristisch logies (Vlaanderen.be, in Dutch): notifying Toerisme Vlaanderen
• Verhuur je een logies via een boekingsplatform? (Toerisme Vlaanderen, PDF in Dutch): the nine basic conditions in Flanders
• New rules bring increased transparency to the short-term rentals sector (European Commission): what Regulation 2024/1028 changes from 20 May 2026