Rental Deposit 2026 in Wallonia and Brussels

The rental deposit (garantie locative) protects the landlord if the tenant fails to meet their obligations: unpaid rent, unpaid charges or damage found at the end of the tenancy. Its amount, form and release are regulated by law, with rules that differ between Wallonia and Brussels. Here is what a landlord needs to know in 2026 for a main residence lease, including a short-term lease. Student leases and house shares partly follow other rules, set out below.

In brief

Maximum amount: 2 months’ rent excluding charges, whatever the form. In Wallonia, for leases concluded on or after 1 June 2023; in Brussels, for leases concluded or renewed on or after 1 November 2024.
A deposit is due only if the lease provides for it. It is the tenant who chooses its form from those provided by law.
The landlord may not keep the deposit in their own account: with an individual blocked account, the money is held in an account in the tenant’s name, and the interest goes to the tenant.
Wallonia: the deposit is released only with the written agreement of both parties, drawn up no earlier than the end of the lease, or by court decision. The law sets no time limit.
Brussels (leases concluded or renewed on or after 1 November 2024): the deposit must be released no later than 2 months after the keys are returned, unless legal proceedings are under way; otherwise the landlord owes a penalty.
Private guarantor: new Civil Code rules apply to undertakings signed on or after 1 January 2026. A written guarantee separate from the lease, with a maximum amount, is compulsory when the landlord acts in a professional capacity, and recommended in all cases.

How much can you ask for?

The deposit is not automatic: it is due only if the lease provides for it. The lease sets the amount, within the legal limit.

In Wallonia, for leases concluded on or after 1 June 2023, the deposit may not exceed the equivalent of 2 months’ rent excluding charges, whatever its form. For leases concluded before that date, a bank guarantee could be up to 3 months. The 2-month cap also applies to any student lease concluded on or after 1 June 2023.

In Brussels, for leases concluded or renewed on or after 1 November 2024, the deposit is also limited to 2 months’ rent excluding charges. For older leases, the cap remains 2 or 3 months depending on the form chosen at the time.

Which forms of deposit are allowed?

The choice of form belongs to the tenant. In Wallonia, for a main residence lease, the law provides for three forms:

The individual blocked account opened in the tenant’s name with a financial institution. This account is blocked: neither the landlord nor the tenant can use it alone, since the money is released only with the written agreement of both parties or by court decision. The interest is capitalised for the tenant, and the landlord has a preferential claim (privilège) on this account for any sum owed because of the tenant’s failings.
The bank guarantee which the tenant undertakes to build up in equal monthly instalments over the term of the lease, over 3 years at most, with the bank into which, where applicable, their professional or replacement income is paid. This bank may not refuse it on grounds of the tenant’s creditworthiness.
The bank guarantee through the CPAS: the CPAS (public social welfare centre) requests it from a financial institution on the basis of a standard contract between them, and the institution grants it in favour of the landlord.

In Brussels, for leases concluded or renewed on or after 1 November 2024, the tenant chooses one of the following five forms: the individual blocked account, the bank guarantee through the CPAS, the progressively built-up bank guarantee, a security interest set up in the tenant’s name with an approved financial institution, or a personal guarantee, in other words a guarantor. The 2-month rent cap applies to all these forms, including the guarantor. These forms cannot be combined: except for a student lease, the landlord may not require both a deposit and a guarantor. For a student lease, where the home is the student’s main residence, the personal guarantee may be added to one of the other four forms.

Can the landlord keep the deposit?

No. The deposit must not stay in the landlord’s hands or in their personal account. In Wallonia, if the tenant has given it to the landlord in cash or by transfer to their account, the landlord must place it in an individual blocked account opened in the tenant’s name. Otherwise, they owe the tenant interest at the average financial market rate from the date the funds were handed over, then interest at the statutory rate once the tenant has given them formal notice to place it. This interest is capitalised.

In Brussels, a landlord who keeps the deposit without placing it also owes the tenant interest from the date the funds were handed over. For leases concluded or renewed on or after 1 November 2024, the deposit must also take one of the five forms provided by law: it can no longer be handed to the landlord, either in cash or into their account. If the landlord holds it anyway, a tenant who can prove it may deduct the amount of the deposit, including interest, from their rent and place it in an account opened in their name.

The guarantor: rules and what is new in 2026

In Wallonia, the decree regulates the rental deposit but does not cover the involvement of a guarantor. A guarantor provided instead of the rental deposit poses no difficulty. Requiring a guarantor in addition to a 2-month deposit is more debated: no text prohibits it, but some legal commentators consider that this combination circumvents the 2-month cap, and the question has not been settled with certainty. If you plan to do so, keep it for situations that justify it, such as a first home or irregular income, and set a reasonable maximum amount. In Brussels, for leases concluded or renewed on or after 1 November 2024, the guarantor is one of the five forms of deposit: it is chosen by the tenant, capped at 2 months’ rent and cannot be combined with another form, except for a student lease.

In both regions, when a private individual acts as guarantor, for example a parent, the new Civil Code rules (Book 9) apply to undertakings signed on or after 1 January 2026. Some apply in all cases:

the undertaking must be proportionate to the guarantor’s income and assets: in the event of manifest disproportion at the time of signing, it is reduced to the amount the guarantor could then pay;
it may cover only the debts of a lease already concluded and clearly identified in the guarantee;
interest and other ancillary amounts claimed from the guarantor may not exceed half of the principal sums due when the landlord calls on them.

When the landlord acts in the course of a professional activity, the following also apply:

a written document separate from the lease, failing which the guarantee is void;
a maximum guaranteed amount, stated in that document;
informing the guarantor before signing about the extent of their undertaking and its risks, then every year about the state of the debt and, without undue delay, if the tenant fails to pay.

The law does not specify when a landlord is acting in a professional capacity. To be safe, apply these rules in all cases: a separate written guarantee with a maximum amount also protects the landlord.

If you give the tenant formal notice to pay, send a copy to the guarantor at the same time: the law requires the landlord to inform them at the same moment.

Before handing over the keys: check that the deposit is in place

A request to open an account or a bank guarantee does not prove that the deposit exists. What counts is the financial institution’s certificate confirming that the deposit has been set up or granted for this lease. If a guarantor is involved, have them sign a written guarantee separate from the lease, with a maximum amount, on the same day as the lease or later, never before, precisely identifying this lease. Provide in the lease that the deposit must be in place before the tenant moves in, and ask for the certificate before handing over the keys.

If your future tenant lacks the means, they can get help, subject to conditions, in particular on income: in Wallonia, the Société wallonne du crédit social (SWCS) offers an interest-free loan to build up the deposit; in Brussels, the Fonds du Logement of the Brussels-Capital Region offers a 0% loan or, failing that, help through the BRU-GAL fund.

At the end of the lease: how is the deposit released?

The deposit covers what the tenant still owes at the end of the lease because of their failings, in particular unpaid rent or charges and damage found at move-out, excluding normal wear and tear and force majeure. Any deduction must be justifiable. The check-in and check-out inventories serve as the basis for comparison.

In Wallonia, the financial institution releases the deposit, to one party or the other, only on presentation of a written agreement between both parties, drawn up no earlier than the end of the lease, or a copy of a court decision. An agreement signed when the lease is concluded therefore does not allow the deposit to be released. In the event of disagreement, the justice of the peace (juge de paix) decides, and the decision is provisionally enforceable.

In Brussels, for leases concluded or renewed on or after 1 November 2024, the deposit must be released no later than 2 months after the keys are returned to the landlord, unless legal proceedings are under way. If it is late, the amount due is increased by 10% of the monthly rent per month of delay begun. In a building with several flats managed by the same person, part of the deposit may remain blocked pending the annual closing of the accounts. As in Wallonia, the financial institution releases the deposit only on presentation of a written agreement between both parties, drawn up no earlier than the end of the lease, or a court decision. The landlord therefore cannot withhold anything without the tenant’s written agreement or a court decision. The 2-month period gives way only to legal proceedings: to be safe, in the event of disagreement, file your claim with the justice of the peace before the end of this period. For older Brussels leases, the law sets no release deadline.

In Brussels, for all residential leases, including those in progress on 1 November 2024, a check-out inventory requested by either party is drawn up after the tenant has vacated the premises and before the keys are returned, at the latest within the month following departure.

Student leases and house shares

In Wallonia, the 2-month cap applies to any student lease concluded on or after 1 June 2023. The other rules described here (forms, blocked account, release) are designed for the main residence lease: they apply to a student lease only if the student makes the home their main residence with the landlord’s express agreement. The same goes for a house-share lease: these rules apply only if a co-tenant makes it their main residence with the express agreement of all the co-tenants and the landlord. In all cases, the house-share agreement (pacte de colocation) must set out the conditions for setting up and releasing the deposit. In Brussels, the deposit rules (2-month cap, five forms, release within 2 months) apply to a student lease when the student makes the home their main residence with the landlord’s agreement, and to a house share when one of the co-tenants makes it their main residence from the moment they move in. In that case, for a student lease, the personal guarantee may be added to another form of deposit. In all cases, a blocked account in the tenant’s name remains the clearest solution.

Wallonia and Brussels at a glance

	Wallonia	Brussels (leases concluded or renewed on or after 1 November 2024)
Maximum amount	2 months’ rent excluding charges, whatever the form (leases concluded on or after 1 June 2023)	2 months’ rent excluding charges
Forms	Individual blocked account, progressive bank guarantee, bank guarantee through the CPAS (main residence lease)	The same, plus a security interest and a personal guarantee, which cannot be combined except for a student lease
Who chooses?	The tenant	The tenant
Deposit kept by the landlord	No: they must place it in an individual blocked account in the tenant’s name, otherwise they owe interest	No: one of the five legal forms is compulsory. If they keep it, they owe interest and the tenant may deduct it from the rent
Release	Written agreement (no earlier than the end of the lease) or court decision, with no legal deadline	No later than 2 months after the keys are returned, unless legal proceedings are under way; penalty of 10% of the monthly rent per month of delay begun

Frequently asked questions

Can I still ask for a 3-month deposit?

No, not for a new main residence lease. In Wallonia, the cap is 2 months whatever the form for leases concluded on or after 1 June 2023, and it also applies to any student lease concluded on or after that date. In Brussels, it is 2 months for leases concluded or renewed on or after 1 November 2024; for a student lease or a house share, this cap applies when the home is the tenant’s main residence.

Is the deposit account in the name of the landlord and the tenant?

No. The individual blocked account is opened in the tenant’s name, never in the landlord’s name. But it is blocked: money can only be released with the written agreement of both parties, drawn up no earlier than the end of the lease, or by court decision. It is this blocking that protects the landlord.

Can the landlord impose their bank or the form of the deposit?

No. The choice of form belongs to the tenant, from those provided by law. The individual blocked account is opened in their name; for the progressively built-up bank guarantee, Walloon law designates the bank into which, where applicable, their income is paid.

Can the tenant stop paying the last months’ rent and rely on the deposit?

No. The deposit is not an advance on rent: the tenant cannot apply it to their last months’ rent on their own initiative. It covers all their obligations and is released only at the end of the lease, according to the rules described above. The only exception is in Brussels: for a lease concluded or renewed on or after 1 November 2024, if the landlord kept the deposit instead of placing it, the tenant may deduct it from the rent.

Who is entitled to the interest?

The tenant. In an individual blocked account, the interest is capitalised for their benefit. For a progressively built-up bank guarantee, the bank pays interest only from the day the guarantee is fully built up, in Wallonia as in Brussels.

What if the tenant dies?

In Wallonia, the lease ends automatically three months after the tenant’s death, unless a person who has been registered at the home for more than six months notifies the landlord, within a month of the death, of their wish to take over the lease; the landlord may object on legitimate grounds. When the lease ends, the landlord can have the deposit released in their favour, up to the amount owed, by unilateral application to the justice of the peace. In Brussels, if the home is no longer occupied by members of the household and the rent or charges remain unpaid for two months after the death, the landlord may consider the lease terminated and apply in the same way to the justice of the peace for the deposit to be released in their favour.

LCI follows the rental deposit for you

For the properties we manage, we check that the deposit is in place before the tenant moves in, keep the financial institution’s certificate and prepare its release on the basis of the check-out inventory and the final statement. Do you own a rental property in Walloon Brabant, Brussels or Hainaut? Contact us or find out about our property management services.

Sources

Article updated in October 2026. In the German-speaking municipalities, the German-speaking Community may apply different rules. This information is general and does not replace an analysis of a particular situation.