Real estate in 2022: what will change? 

2022! A new year has begun! We would like to list the things that have changed since 1 January 2022. If you are buying or selling property this year, there are a number of things you should take into account! 

1. For starters, the registration tax drops from 6 to 3 percent when purchasing a home in Flanders.  

2. From 2022, not the purchase price, but the estimated value of a home will serve as the basis for granting a home loan. This is the result of a new European directive that makes an appraisal obligatory for taking out a mortgage loan. 

3. Normally, the temporary measure whereby you buy a house and then demolish and rebuild it at a reduced VAT rate of 6% expires at the end of 2022. However, Flanders would like to extend this decision because it fits in with the new climate plan announced in November. 

4. Renovation obligation for all non-residential buildings - or parts of the building - that change owner.

5. From 1 January 2022, only energy performance certificates (EPC) issued since 1 January 2019 may be used when selling a property. The date of the sale will be based on the notarial deed and not on the compromise. A compromise that was signed in 2021, but whose notarial deed was executed in 2022, therefore falls under the new rule.

6. For each apartment building with at least two flats, an EPC must also be drawn up for the common parts.

7. A ban on the installation of new fuel oil boilers. This ban is a promise from the Flemish Energy and Climate Plan and the Flemish coalition agreement. A boiler may no longer be completely replaced, unless there is no natural gas network in the street.

8. From 1 January 2022, there are new tax rules for those who own real estate abroad.

9. Those who wish to buy a second home, building plot, shop or flat for rent in Flanders will have to pay 12% registration fees instead of 10% in Flanders. An exception to this rule applies to nature reserves and agricultural land, where the rate remains at 10%.