You may sell a home while a tenant lives in it. The lease agreement does not end because of that: the buyer takes it over. Here you read which rules apply, what you hand over to the buyer and how you arrange the sale with respect for your tenant.
You may sell a let home: the buyer takes over the current lease agreement, with all rights and obligations, from the notarial deed (Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet). For lease agreements from 1 January 2019 the buyer can only give notice according to that decree, for example to live there themselves with 6 months’ notice on a 9-year lease. If an older lease agreement is not registered, the buyer can give notice within 3 months after the deed to live there themselves, with a notice period of 3 months (the notaries’ model sale agreement, checked on 28 October 2026).
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.
Yes. As owner you may sell your home, even if it is let. Your tenant does not have to leave because of that: the buyer steps into all rights and obligations of the landlord from the day of the notarial deed. That applies even if the lease agreement stipulates that the tenant has to leave on a sale (Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, the Flemish Residential Lease Decree, article 38).
Before you conclude a sale agreement (compromis), you let the prospective buyer know that the home is let and with which type of lease agreement. The sale agreement states that the home is let, with the details of the lease agreement (Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet). The buyer receives a copy of the lease agreement before signing and receives the rent from the deed (the notaries’ model sale agreement).
So you can sell with the tenant in it, or wait until the lease ends and sell an empty home. Which route fits depends on how long the lease still runs and on the kind of buyer you are looking for.
Part 2
Which rules apply: lease agreement before or after 2019?
For residential lease agreements concluded on or after 1 January 2019 the Flemish Residential Lease Decree applies. The buyer takes over all rights and obligations, and if they want to give notice, they follow the rules of that decree (the notaries’ model sale agreement).
Registering the lease agreement and the inventory of fixtures (plaatsbeschrijving) is an obligation of the landlord (Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet). So check whether that has been done, before you sell.
For a lease agreement from before 1 January 2019 the federal lease law applies, and then it matters whether it is registered (the notaries’ model sale agreement):
Registered before the notarial deed: the buyer takes over all rights and obligations.
Not registered at the deed: the buyer also takes over the rights and obligations, but can give notice sooner. They do so within 3 months after the deed, to live there themselves, with a notice period of 3 months for the tenant.
If the tenant has the agreement registered between the sale agreement and the deed, the buyer bears the consequences of that.
Part 3
Can the buyer give your tenant notice?
Under the Flemish Residential Lease Decree a landlord, and thus also the buyer, can only give notice for a reason the decree allows: to live there themselves or have family live there, for major renovation works or without reason with compensation. What is possible depends on the type of lease agreement (Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet):
9-year lease: the landlord can give notice at any time to live there themselves, with a notice period of 6 months, unless that is excluded in the contract. For a family member it is also possible, but then the notice period cannot expire before the end of the first 3 years of the lease.
Whoever gives notice to live there themselves must move in within a year and stay for at least 2 years, otherwise the tenant is entitled to compensation of 18 months’ rent.
Without reason the landlord can give notice at the end of the first or the second period of 3 years, with 6 months’ notice and compensation of 9 or 6 months’ rent, unless the contract excludes or limits that.
Short-term lease, at most 3 years: the notice to live there themselves does not apply. The lease ends if one of the two parties gives notice at least 3 months before the end.
Part 4
What do you hand over to the buyer, and what may you no longer do?
Between sale agreement and deed you remain landlord, with agreements that protect the buyer. You notify the buyer within 8 days if the tenant gives notice. You conclude no new lease agreement, do not extend the current one and do not change the conditions without the buyer’s agreement. If an inventory of fixtures was drawn up at the start of the lease, you invite the buyer to the inventory on departure (the notaries’ model sale agreement).
If your municipality has a regulation that requires a conformity certificate, the sale agreement states whether there is a valid certificate (the notaries’ model sale agreement). A rental deposit is at most 3 months’ rent and is held for example on an account in the tenant’s name (Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet). Ask your bank how you transfer that deposit to the buyer.
At the latest at the deed you hand over to the buyer (the notaries’ model sale agreement):
The original lease agreement.
The full rental deposit.
The detailed inventory of fixtures, if it was drawn up at the start of the lease.
In addition you declare that the tenant carried out no works for which they can claim compensation or which they can undo on departure.
Part 5
How do you arrange viewings when a tenant lives there?
The home is your tenant’s home, also during the sale. Let them know as early as possible that you are selling, and what that means: the lease continues and the buyer takes it over.
Check in the lease agreement what has been agreed about viewings in a sale, and agree fixed moments. Bundle the viewings where possible, announce them in time, and be there yourself or have someone you trust do them.
Photos you take in consultation, without your tenant’s personal belongings in view. At Hoobler you plan viewings and answer questions from buyers from one overview, so that your tenant is not disturbed for every question. The lease documents you put in your dossier, which you share with the notary.
Part 6
What does a tenant mean for your buyers and your price?
Whoever buys to let pays the standard rate of 1 % registration duty in Flanders. The reduced rate of % requires among others that the buyer registers at the address within 3 years after the deed (Vlaamse Belastingdienst, the Flemish Tax Administration).
If a buyer wants to live there themselves at %, they must be able to move in within those 3 years. With a lease that still runs for a long time, that can be difficult. Discuss in advance with your tenant and the buyer what is realistic.
Your tenant can also buy your home themselves. If your lease agreement contains a right of first refusal, you must respect that; ask your notary how.
The buyer has to renovate a home with label E or F to at least label D within 6 years after the deed (Vlaamse overheid, the Flemish government). There is no official figure on the price difference between a let and an empty home. The rent, the term and the condition of the home help determine what a buyer is willing to pay; a free valuation gives you a starting point.
Part 7
Do you pay capital gains tax on a let home?
If you sell a built home within 5 years after the purchase, you pay 16. % on the capital gain (notaris.be). A let home is not your own home, so the exemption for the own home does not apply then (FOD Financiën, the federal tax authority). After 5 years you pay no capital gains tax on a built home, and an inherited home never falls under it (notaris.be).
You declare rental income in your tax return until the sale; how, depends on who your tenant is (FOD Financiën).
In Brussels and Wallonia other lease rules apply; ask your notary what applies there. The capital gains tax is federal and applies throughout Belgium.
Frequently asked questions
Answered briefly.
Can I sell my house if a tenant lives in it?
Yes. The buyer takes over the current lease agreement, with all rights and obligations, from the notarial deed (Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet). Let the prospective buyer know before the sale agreement that the home is let.
Can the new owner evict my tenant?
Only according to the rules of the lease agreement and the decree. With a 9-year lease from 2019 they can for example give notice to live there themselves, with 6 months’ notice, unless the contract excludes that. A short-term lease runs until the end (Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet).
What happens to the rental deposit if I sell?
At the latest at the deed you hand over to the buyer the full rental deposit, the original lease agreement and the inventory of fixtures (the notaries’ model sale agreement). In Flanders the deposit is at most 3 months’ rent.
What if my lease agreement is not registered?
If it was concluded before 2019 and not registered at the deed, the buyer can give notice within 3 months after the deed to live there themselves, with a notice period of 3 months (the notaries’ model sale agreement). For lease agreements from 2019 the rules of the Flemish Residential Lease Decree apply.
Can I sell my let home to my tenant?
Yes, that is an ordinary sale with the same certificates. If it becomes your tenant’s sole owner-occupied home, they can under conditions pay % registration duty instead of 1 % (Vlaamse Belastingdienst).
In your free sale dossier you see which certificates your home needs, and you get the lease agreement, the deposit and the inventory of fixtures ready for buyer and notary.