Buying
Buying a home from a private seller in Belgium
Private sellers can advertise on Immoweb here, so the homes are not hidden from you, and what you pay in registration duty depends entirely on which region you buy in.
English
Where private sellers actually list in Belgium
Each of these is a separate pool. A saved search on one tells you nothing about the others, so set up alerts on every one you intend to use.
- Anyone.com Listed by the owner
Homes put up by their owners in Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. You deal with the owner directly and settle the price between you, before any notary drafts a thing. No agency fee is built into what you are being asked to pay.
More than 31 million active listings across 31 markets, agent-represented and owner-listed together. Immoweb carries agency and private listings, with no way to tell them apart in search, and holds about 83,000 houses and apartments for sale across the country.
Search owner-listed homes ↗ - Immoweb Owners can list, for a fee
Buyer filter The search filters cover location, price, property type and EPC rather than who is selling, so check the advertiser on the listing itself
The dominant Belgian portal, and an owner can advertise here directly on a paid package. That makes Belgium unusual in Europe: the private listings sit in the same results as the agency ones instead of being locked out. Most buyers never think to look at who is behind a listing, which is the whole opportunity.
- Zimmo Owners can list, for a fee
Buyer filter Check the advertiser shown on each listing
Second national portal, widely used in Flanders and carrying both agency and owner listings. Sellers often post here and on Immoweb, so expect overlap rather than new stock.
- 2dehands and 2ememain Owners can list
Buyer filter Search huis te koop zonder makelaar, or maison à vendre sans agence
The general classifieds site, free and owner-heavy. Nothing is checked before it goes up, and the listings are thinner on detail, so treat what you read as a starting point for a conversation.
- Facebook groups Owners can list
Buyer filter Search by gemeente or commune name plus te koop
Local selling groups are where a lot of Belgian owners test the water before paying for a portal listing. Worth joining the two or three covering the communes you want.
How many homes this really covers
The figure you will see quoted, that 15 to 20 percent of Belgian homes are sold privately, comes from companies that sell private-listing packages rather than from any statistics office. Treat it as marketing until somebody publishes the working. What is certain is that owner listings sit in the same portals as agency ones here, so you are filtering rather than hunting.
Regional registration duty on a home purchase
This is the largest single thing a Belgian buyer pays and it is set by region, not nationally. Flanders charges 2 percent on a sole own home against a standard 12 percent, and from 2026 you have to stay registered at the address for a continuous year to keep the rate. Wallonia charges 3 percent on a first and only family home, with the first €25,000 exempt. Brussels keeps the standard 12.5 percent but exempts the first €200,000, worth up to €25,000, provided you move in within two years and stay five. Work out your own number before you make an offer, because the gap between regions is larger than anything you will negotiate off the price.
In force since January 2025, with the Flemish residence condition from 2026. Read the legislation
Buying one, step by step
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Work out your registration duty first
Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia are three different regimes and the difference runs to tens of thousands of euros on the same price. Establish which rate you qualify for before you start looking, not after you have made an offer.
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Search the portals, then look at who is advertising
Immoweb and Zimmo carry both kinds of seller in the same results. Open the listing and see whether the contact is an agency or the owner. Add 2dehands and the local Facebook groups for the stock that never reaches a portal.
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Ask for the certificates before you view a second time
A Belgian seller must have an EPC or PEB, an electrical installation inspection, and in Flanders a soil certificate and an asbestos certificate. A private seller may not have organised these yet. Their absence is not a red flag, but it does tell you how far along they really are.
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Appoint your own notary before you sign anything
It costs nothing extra and it means someone is reading the file for you rather than for the seller. Send them the draft compromis before you sign it.
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Treat the compromis as the sale, because it is
In Belgium the compromis de vente binds both parties. The deed four months later is the formality. Any condition you want, on financing or a survey, goes in at this stage or not at all.
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Pay the duty within four months
Registration duty falls due within four months of the compromis, and the notary handles it out of the funds you provide. Late is expensive.
Check before any money moves
- Which region the property sits in, and the exact registration duty rate you qualify for
- The EPC or PEB certificate and its score, which also sets any renovation obligation you inherit
- The electrical installation inspection report, and what a negative report will cost you to put right
- In Flanders, the soil certificate and the asbestos certificate, both required before a sale can complete
- Urban planning information: permits for anything built or converted, and whether the property is in a flood-prone area
- For an apartment, the syndic's accounts, the reserve fund and any works already voted by the assembly
Selling one instead? See where to list a home yourself in Belgium , or the full guide to selling without an agent in Belgium .
Common questions
Can private sellers advertise on Immoweb?
Yes, on a paid package. That is what makes Belgium different from the Netherlands, where Funda takes listings only from registered agents. Here the owner listings are in the same search results, so the work is noticing them rather than finding a separate site.
Do I pay the agency fee when I buy?
No. The seller owes it, at roughly 3 to 3.5 percent plus VAT, and it is priced into what they are asking. When there is no agency, that cost is not there at all, which is what gives you room to negotiate.
Should I get my own notary?
Yes, particularly when buying privately. Two notaries cost the same as one in Belgium because they divide the statutory fee, so declining one saves you nothing and leaves you relying on the seller's.
Is the compromis binding?
Yes. Once signed, the sale is made, and the authentic deed roughly four months later completes it. Do not sign one on the understanding that you can think again, and put any financing condition in writing before you do.
How much registration duty will I actually pay?
It depends on the region and on whether it is your only home. Flanders 2 percent on a sole own home against 12 percent otherwise, Wallonia 3 percent on a first family home with the first €25,000 free, Brussels 12.5 percent with the first €200,000 exempt if you live there for five years. On a €350,000 home the difference between those regimes is worth more than any price negotiation you are likely to win.
Sources
Every legal, tax, and process claim on this page traces to one of these. We re-check them on a schedule and date the page when anything changes.
- Registration duty rates by regionFednot, Belgian notaries · notaris.be
- Registratierechten Vlaanderen 2026: regels, tarieven en voorwaardenHillewaere Vastgoed · hillewaere-vastgoed.be
- Registratierechten 2026: Wallonië, Brussel, VlaanderenHousing Service · housing-service.be
- Houses and apartments for sale in BelgiumImmoweb · immoweb.be