Keeping a home within the family feels good, for you and for your child. Yet a sale to your child is an ordinary sale, with a few pitfalls of its own: the price, the tax and your other children. This is how you handle it fairly and correctly.
If you sell your home to your child at too low a price, the tax authority may see that as a gift, with gift tax instead of registration duty, and on your death the advantage is set off against that child's share of the inheritance (notaris.be). So have the value determined objectively, for example by a surveyor-valuer. In Flanders your child pays 2 % registration duty if they buy the home in full ownership as their sole owner-occupied home and register there within 3 years (Vlaamse Belastingdienst, checked 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. A sale to your child is an ordinary sale, with a sale agreement (compromis), a deed at the notary and the same compulsory certificates as with any other sale (Vlaamse overheid, the Flemish government). So you also need the EPC (energy performance certificate), the soil certificate, the electrical inspection, the planning information and, for a construction year before 2001, an asbestos certificate.
Who signs depends on who is owner. If you are married or legally cohabiting, you decide on the family home together with your partner, even if only one of you is owner (notaris.be). If after the death of your partner you have the usufruct and your children the bare ownership, you and all your children sign together.
You usually do not need an advert, because the buyer is already there. You do need a complete dossier: with it your child knows what they are buying, and the notary can work smoothly. If you are torn between selling and gifting, the notary sets the consequences for you and your children side by side.
Part 2
Which price do you ask your child?
A realistic price, close to what the home would fetch on the market. If you sell far below the value, the tax authority may assume that you are actually gifting the home rather than selling it. On a gift you pay gift tax and no registration duty (notaris.be, 16 April 2018).
To know how much discount you may be giving, you need the real value. Notaris.be recommends an objective value, for example with a valuation report from a surveyor-valuer (landmeter-expert) (notaris.be, 2018). That report also helps to show your other children later how the price came about.
A free first valuation based on the address, such as Hoobler's, gives you a first idea to start the conversation. It is not a valuation report and does not replace an objective valuation.
Part 3
What if you deliberately sell below the value?
That is allowed. The difference between the value and the price then counts as a gift to the child who buys (notaris.be, 2018). Gift tax may be due on that difference; which amount and which rate, the notary calculates for your situation.
An example: the home is worth € 360,000 and you sell it for € 300,000. Then you are in fact gifting your child € 60,000. That amount counts later in the division of your inheritance.
Also discuss how your child pays the price: with a loan from the bank, with their own savings or with a loan from you. Each has different consequences. Always put the agreements in writing, preferably at the notary.
Part 4
How do you stay fair towards your other children?
A low price for one child is usually not meant to favour that child, but it can turn out that way (notaris.be, 2018). That is why the advantage is set off on your death against the share of the inheritance of the child who bought. That way your children are on an equal footing again.
Even with a correct price, openness helps. Tell your other children that you are selling, at which price and why, and show what that price is based on. A valuation report or a conversation together at the notary prevents distrust later. A few questions to discuss together:
Is the price in line with the market, or are you deliberately giving a discount?
Does everyone know that a discount is set off later?
Do you keep living in the home yourself, and under which conditions?
What happens if your child resells the home later?
How do you keep it fair if another child ever needs help with a home of their own?
Part 5
How much registration duty does your child pay?
As buyer, your child pays registration duty on the price. In Flanders that is 2 % for the sole owner-occupied home and otherwise the standard rate of 12 % (Vlaamse Belastingdienst, the Flemish Tax Administration). On a price of € 300,000 that is € 6,000 compared with € 36,000. The Flemish Government wants to bring the reduced rate to 3 % from 1 January 2027; that has been announced, but the decree is not there yet.
For 2 %, your child has to meet among others these conditions (Vlaamse Belastingdienst):
They buy the home in full ownership. If they only buy the bare ownership, because you keep the usufruct, the reduced rate does not apply.
They are not full and sole owner of another home or building plot, or they sell it within 2 years after the deed.
They register at the address within 3 years after the deed, and for sale agreements from 2026 remain registered there without interruption for at least 1 year.
Part 6
Can you continue to live in the home after the sale?
That is possible, but the form you choose has consequences for the tax, the renovation obligation and your inheritance. Discuss it with the notary in advance. This is how the most common forms work out:
You keep the usufruct and your child buys the bare ownership. Then the reduced rate of 2 % does not apply, because that requires a purchase in full ownership (Vlaamse Belastingdienst). The renovation obligation does not apply either, because only the bare ownership is transferred (Vlaamse overheid). Have the notary check how such a sale counts for your inheritance.
You rent the home from your child. Your child becomes full owner, but if they do not register at the address within 3 years, they lose the reduced rate (Vlaamse Belastingdienst).
You stay on for a while after the deed, as agreed in the sale agreement, free of charge or against a fee. If staying free of charge lasts longer than 1 month, it counts as part of the sale price, and your child's registration duty rises (the notaries' model sale agreement).
Part 7
Does your child have to renovate the home, and do you pay capital gains tax?
If the home has label E or F, your child as buyer has to renovate it to at least label D within 6 years after the deed (Vlaamse overheid, approved 12 December 2025). That also applies within the family, and also for a gift. Whoever does not make it risks a fine of € 500 to € 5,000 per dwelling unit, and the obligation remains.
So include the renovation in the conversation about the price. An EPC that is ready early shows what needs to happen. Your child can also look at which support exists, such as Mijn VerbouwPremie or Mijn VerbouwLening (Vlaamse overheid).
If you sell a built second or third home within 5 years after the purchase, you pay 16.5 % on the capital gain (notaris.be). For your own home other rules apply; have your notary check whether that is relevant for you.
Part 8
How do you prepare the sale to your child?
Start with the documents, because you need them in any case. At Hoobler you start a sale dossier for free from the address, with an account via itsme. Hoobler retrieves the documents it can, such as the land registry data, the planning information and the regional zoning plan (gewestplan), and shows which other documents the home needs.
Certificates such as the EPC, the asbestos certificate and the electrical inspection you order from the dossier at partner De Immowinkel, at their rate. You then share the dossier with the notary, who draws up the sale agreement and the deed.
Publishing is usually not necessary for a sale within the family. What does count: a fair price, clear agreements and a conversation with the notary before you sign anything.
Frequently asked questions
Answered briefly.
May I sell my house to my child at a lower price?
Yes, but the difference with the real value counts as a gift. The tax authority may then levy gift tax, and on your death the advantage is set off against that child's share of the inheritance (notaris.be, 2018).
How do I determine a fair price for my child?
Have the value determined objectively, for example by a surveyor-valuer (notaris.be). A free online valuation gives a first idea, but is not a valuation report.
Does my child pay 2 % registration duty?
Yes, if they buy the home in full ownership as their sole owner-occupied home and register at the address within 3 years after the deed (Vlaamse Belastingdienst). If they only buy the bare ownership, no. From 1 January 2027, 3 % has been announced, but the decree is not there yet.
Can I sell my house to my child and keep living there myself?
Yes, for example by keeping the usufruct, renting the home or agreeing a later date for the keys. Each form has different consequences for the registration duty, the renovation obligation and your inheritance; discuss it with the notary in advance.
Do my other children have to agree?
If you are sole owner, you decide, together with your partner if it is the family home (notaris.be). If your children have the bare ownership, they all sign. Even if their signature is not needed, openness about the price prevents discussion later.
Does my child have to renovate a home with label F?
Yes. Whoever buys a home with label E or F, also from a parent, has to renovate it to at least label D within 6 years after the deed (Vlaamse overheid). That does not apply if your child only buys the bare ownership.
Even for a sale to your child you need the compulsory certificates. You start your dossier for free from the address, Hoobler shows which documents the home needs, and you share it with the notary later.