Repairs: who pays for what?

The principle, in one sentence

The owner must deliver and maintain a dwelling in good condition; the tenant must look after it and return it as he received it, normal wear and tear excepted.

From which the split follows:

• Major repairs and major upkeep, anything touching the structure, the building envelope and heavy equipment, fall on the owner;
• tenant repairs and day-to-day upkeep, anything flowing from everyday use of the home, fall on the tenant.

The three Regions (Brussels, Wallonia, Flanders) each have their own residential tenancy text, and each has adopted a list of repairs and maintenance work:

• in Brussels, an order of 23 November 2017 divides the work between tenant and landlord, and the parties may not depart from that division;
• in Wallonia, a non-exhaustive list adopted in 2018, supplemented by an indicative depreciation grid;
• in Flanders, a list of minor repairs (kleine herstellingen) borne by the tenant, for leases concluded since 1 January 2019.

Those lists are your best referee in case of doubt: find the one for the Region where the property is. They are not strictly identical, and a generic "Belgian" answer does not exist.

What falls on the TENANT

Day-to-day upkeep, minor maintenance, and any damage caused by his fault or negligence.

Heating and hot water

• The periodic boiler service by an approved technician and chimney sweeping. This is maintenance, not a repair: it falls on the tenant, who keeps the certificate and hands it to the landlord on request. The frequency depends on the fuel and the Region: the Walloon list, for instance, provides for annual servicing and inspection of oil-fired boilers.
• Bleeding the radiators and replacing small wear parts (seals, fuses, indicator lamps).

Plumbing and sanitary fittings

• Seals (silicone, tap washers), shower hoses, shower heads, descaling.
• The cistern mechanism and float, the toilet seat.
• Unblocking traps and accessible pipework, unless the blockage comes from an embedded pipe or the building's common stack.

Electrics and joinery

• Bulbs, fuses, switches and sockets damaged through use.
• Greasing locks and hinges; replacing a lost key.
• Small paint touch-ups and filling holes the tenant drilled.

Safety and ventilation

• The smoke detector batteries (the detector itself is supplied and fitted by the owner, as regional rules require for rented homes).
• Cleaning or replacing ventilation filters.

Outdoors

• Upkeep of the garden the tenant enjoys: mowing, trimming hedges, weeding; clearing gutters reachable without scaffolding.

Window panes

• A pane broken during the lease is presumed to be the tenant's responsibility. It is a presumption: it falls away if he shows the breakage was caused by hail, a storm, a defect in the property or a third party.

What falls on the OWNER

Everything to do with the structure, ageing and heavy equipment.

• Weathertightness: roof, façade, walls, floors, window frames and windows (their replacement).
• Replacing the boiler or water heater once unusable or worn out, and heavy repairs (heat exchanger, burner, circulation pump).
• Embedded pipework, broken pipes and the common drainage stack.
• The electrical installation where it is worn out or non-compliant, and the consumer unit.
• Structural damp: infiltration, rising damp, condensation caused by a defect in the building's insulation or ventilation. Mind the nuance: condensation caused by the occupant failing to air the property is another matter, that is where expert reports are fought.
• Fitting the smoke detectors, and replacing units at end of life.
• And more broadly, everything that becomes necessary through age or force majeure rather than through faulty use. All three texts say so in their own way: a "tenant" repair made necessary solely by age or force majeure stays with the landlord.

One habit for tenants: report in writing any repair that is the owner's job. The Flemish list says so expressly, and the logic holds everywhere: damage that worsens because it was not reported may be put down to you.

Normal wear and tear is NEVER the tenant's

This is the most important principle of the whole article, and the one most often violated in exit statements.

A lived-in home ages. Paint yellows, parquet acquires a patina, bathroom seals grey, carpet flattens under the furniture. That is not damage: it is wear and tear, and the tenant does not answer for it. After six years of occupation, a landlord cannot demand a fresh coat of paint at the tenant's expense.

In practice, a depreciation coefficient is applied: if a floor covering has a ten-year life and has served seven, at most three tenths of its value may be claimed, and even then, only where the damage exceeds normal wear. Wallonia's indicative depreciation grid gives, item by item, a lifespan and an annual depreciation rate: a useful yardstick, even elsewhere. Do not pay new for old; do not claim new for old.

Symmetrically: the tenant answers for damage arising while he occupies the property, unless he proves it happened through no fault of his: wear and tear, force majeure, a defect in the property, the act of a third party. The presumption exists, it is simply rebuttable.

The inspection report: the centrepiece

All this theory is worth nothing without proof. And the proof is the entry inspection report, which all three Regions make compulsory.

Where there is no detailed entry report, the tenant is presumed to have received the property in the state it is in at exit. Evidence to the contrary remains possible, but the landlord then has to show by other means that the damage comes from the tenant, and without a document that rarely succeeds. It is the heaviest sanction on the careless landlord.

At exit, you compare, item by item, with the entry condition. The statement may only cover the difference, less wear and tear. If works are needed and leave the property unlettable, an immobilisation indemnity may be added, but its duration must be justified.

Do it properly: room by room, dated photos, meter readings, both signatures, one copy each. Brussels and Wallonia offer an official template. Some peer-to-peer rental platforms, such as Domilinko, a Belgian site with no intermediary, include an entry and exit inspection room by room, backed by photos and meter readings. An inspection dashed off on the day of the key handover, on the corner of a table, protects nobody. The full detail is in our guide the entry and exit inventory.

In case of disagreement

Two mistakes never to make. Tenant: do not stop paying the rent to apply pressure, it is the surest way to turn a strong case into a termination at your fault. Landlord: do not withhold the deposit on your own authority without a written agreement or a court decision; an unjustified retention rebounds on you (see our guide to the rental deposit). Water, heating or lift costs follow a different logic: see service charges.

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. The repair lists differ between Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders: always check the one for your Region.

Official sources

• Brussels: division of repairs between tenant and landlord : the principles and the Brussels list, from which the parties may not depart.
• Wallonia: liste non limitative des réparations locatives : the Walloon landlord / tenant table, item by item (PDF, in French).
• Wallonia: grille indicative de vétusté : how to calculate the share due to normal wear (PDF, in French).
• Flanders: onderhoud en herstellingen aan huurwoningen : the tenant's minor repairs and the landlord's duties (in Dutch).
• Conciliation before the justice of the peace : a free procedure, started by simple letter (in French).