Finding a place of your own again after a divorce is a big step. Often it runs in parallel with the division of the former home and the loan you have together. Here you read in which order you had best work and what the bank and the Flemish Tax Administration ask of you.
You can buy again with % registration duty if you do not own another home for the whole in full ownership; a share in the former home, such as the half you still own with your ex, does not make you owner of the whole (Vlaamse Belastingdienst, checked on 28 October 2026). If you are full owner of another home, you commit to selling it within 2 years after the deed. As long as you are on the loan together with your ex, you remain liable to the bank for the full amount (Wikifin, August 2025).
What is your home worth?
First see what your home is worth. Then start preparing early and without obligation: free, for as long as you like.
There is no legal waiting period. What determines the timing is the former home: as long as it is not sold or divided, usually no money is released from it yet and you are often still on the loan. Roughly there are three situations:
The former home is sold. From the proceeds the outstanding loan comes off first, the rest is divided according to your shares and agreements. Your share can become your own contribution.
Your ex takes over the home. You receive a buyout sum based on the current market value and your shares. Your ex must be able to carry the buyout sum and the loan alone, and the bank must agree to the takeover of the loan (notaris.be).
You remain owners together for the time being. Then you are usually still on the loan too, and that weighs in when the bank looks at your new loan.
Part 2
What while the divorce is still pending?
As long as you are married or legally cohabiting, you decide on the family home together, even if only one of you is owner (notaris.be). So you cannot sell the former home alone or encumber it with a mortgage.
If you already want to buy a new home in that period, discuss it with your notary first. Under the statutory regime a home bought during the marriage in principle falls into the common assets (notaris.be). Your notary checks what that means for your purchase and how your own money from the former home remains traceable.
If you were de facto cohabiting, there are no common assets and no statutory protection of the family home. You are co-owners according to the deed (Wikifin, June 2026).
Part 3
What happens to the loan on your former home?
If you are both on the loan agreement, you both remain responsible for the repayment, even if one of you has already moved out. An agreement between you does not bind the bank (Wikifin, August 2025).
Only a document from the bank stating that you no longer have to repay releases you. The bank usually only gives that once the loan is fully repaid, or once it is sure that your ex can carry the loan alone. Ask for that written agreement before you accept an arrangement with your ex (Wikifin, August 2025).
If you nevertheless pay in your ex’s place, you can later try to recover that on the basis of the agreements you made (Wikifin). So put those agreements on paper, preferably in the arrangement your notary or lawyer draws up.
Part 4
How much can you borrow for your new home?
The bank looks at your whole financial situation: what you earn, which fixed costs and other loans you have, and what you have left after the repayment (notaris.be, September 2026). A loan on the former home that you are still on belongs to those other loans.
In addition, a bank in principle finances no more than 9 % of the value of the new home (notaris.be, September 2026). So your buyout sum or your share of the sale proceeds is often your own contribution. The sooner the former home is divided, the clearer your budget becomes.
If you buy before the former home is sold, a bridging loan can cover the time. It runs until the sale of your previous home and you only pay interest on it (Wikifin, June 2026). How much and for how long a bank bridges differs per bank.
If you have a modest income, you can apply for a Flemish housing loan (Vlaamse woonlening) at the Flemish Housing Fund (Vlaams Woningfonds), for a purchase or to keep the home after a divorce or the end of a cohabitation (Vlaamse overheid, the Flemish government).
Part 5
Do you get % registration duty if you are still co-owner?
For % you may not own another home or building plot for the whole in full ownership, alone or together with whoever buys along (Vlaamse Belastingdienst, the Flemish Tax Administration, advance ruling 25038, May 2025). A share in the former home, for example the half you still own with your ex, does not make you owner of the whole.
If you are full owner of another home, for example because you took over the former home entirely, you only get % if you commit to selling it within 2 years after the deed of your new home. If that fails, you pay the difference with 1 % on top, plus 2 % tax increase on that difference (Vlaamse Belastingdienst). If you are still married and the former home belongs to the common assets, have your notary check how it counts.
For the notary’s reduced fee the rule is stricter: you may not own any other property, not even a share (Tariefbesluit, the notaries’ tariff decree, version of 9 February 2026). If you are still co-owner, you pay the standard fee. On a home of € 50,000 that is about € 06 more, plus VAT.
If you bought the former home yourselves at the reduced rate, you do not have to keep living there together: the rate is kept if one partner takes over the other’s share and remains registered there as the only one (Vlaamse Belastingdienst). In Brussels and Wallonia other rules apply.
Part 6
In which order do you best go about it?
There is no fixed order, but there is an order with the least uncertainty:
First make agreements on the former home: sell, buy out or remain owners together for the time being, and from which value you start.
Ask the bank in writing whether and when you can step out of the joint loan.
Have the bank calculate your borrowing capacity with the figures after the division. Collect your payslips and, if your income varies, your career overview from MyCareer (notaris.be, September 2026).
Then search actively, and bid with a suspensive condition for your loan (notaris.be).
Only sign your sale agreement once the date of the deed fits the moment when money from the former home is released, or arrange a bridging loan.
In the meantime you can already have a calm look around the showroom on hoobler.be: with a saved search you get an e-mail as soon as a home comes online that fits.
Part 7
What about the division duty and the renovation obligation?
If one of you takes over the former home, you pay division duty (verdeelrecht) in Flanders on the full value. Ex-spouses pay % if the division takes place after or through the divorce. Former legal cohabitants pay % if they were legally cohabiting without interruption for at least a year and the division takes place within 3 years after the end (Vlaamse Belastingdienst, position of March 2026). De facto cohabitants pay the standard rate of 2. % (notaris.be).
With such a takeover between co-owners no renovation obligation arises if at least one of you keeps their main residence there; an obligation that was already running does continue to apply (Vlaamse overheid).
If you buy a new home with EPC label E or F yourself, the renovation obligation does apply to you: label D within 6 years after the deed (Vlaamse overheid). How a buyout itself proceeds and what it costs, you read in the guide on selling or buying out in a divorce.
Frequently asked questions
Answered briefly.
May I buy a house while I am still co-owner with my ex?
Yes. For % registration duty in Flanders a share in the former home does not count as ownership of the whole (Vlaamse Belastingdienst). You do usually remain on the old loan, and that weighs in with your new loan.
Can I step out of the loan if my ex keeps the house?
Only with a written document from the bank. The bank usually only gives that once it is sure that your ex can carry the loan alone, or once the loan is repaid (Wikifin, August 2025).
Do I have to sell my former house within 2 years to get %?
Only if you own another home for the whole in full ownership, alone or together with whoever buys along. A home that you still share with your ex does not count as ownership of the whole for that (Vlaamse Belastingdienst).
How much division duty do you pay on a buyout after a divorce?
In Flanders % of the full value for ex-spouses and former legal cohabitants, under conditions, and 2. % for de facto cohabitants (Vlaamse Belastingdienst; notaris.be).
Can I get a social loan after a divorce?
With a modest income you can apply for a Flemish housing loan at the Vlaams Woningfonds, for a purchase or to keep the home after a divorce (Vlaamse overheid). The limits for income and value you find at the Vlaams Woningfonds.
In the showroom on hoobler.be owners sell their home themselves. Save a search, and you get an e-mail as soon as a home comes online that fits, even if you only want to buy later.