Lease Registration 2026 in Wallonia and Brussels

A residential lease must be registered. It costs nothing, but forgetting to do it can be expensive for the landlord: for a main residence lease, the tenant may, under certain conditions, leave without notice and the rent cannot be indexed. In addition, the lease in principle has no certain date (date certaine), meaning a date that can be relied on against third parties such as a buyer. The tax obligation is the same everywhere, but its civil consequences differ between Wallonia and Brussels, where a second, regional registration has been added since 1 January 2025. Here is what a landlord needs to know in 2026.

In brief

Every residential lease (main residence, short-term, student lease, house share) must be registered by the landlord within 2 months of signing. It is free.
This is a federal tax obligation: registration is done with the FPS Finance (online via MyRent or on paper), in Wallonia as in Brussels.
In Brussels, since 1 January 2025, the lease must also be registered on Irisrent, the regional platform. Two registrations are therefore needed.
The check-in inventory must also be registered. Register any amendments too, for example an extension or the arrival of a new co-tenant.
Wallonia: for a main residence lease, once the two-month period has passed, the tenant may leave without notice or compensation if their formal notice to register the lease has had no effect for one month. As long as the lease is not registered, indexation and upward rent reviews are excluded.
Brussels: for any residential lease, the tenant is exempt from notice and compensation as soon as the two-month period ends, without prior formal notice, as long as the lease is not registered. Indexation requires a registered lease and the EPC (PEB) to have been given to the tenant.
An unregistered lease remains valid between the landlord and the tenant, but in principle it has no certain date with respect to third parties.

A federal tax obligation, regional civil effects

The obligation to register a lease comes from the Code of registration, mortgage and court registry duties. It covers all leases of buildings used exclusively as the home of a family or a single person, whatever their length. It rests with the landlord, who must submit the lease for registration within 2 months of signing. If the last day of the period falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day. For these leases, registration is free: the law applies a zero rate to them.

Regionalisation did not change this. Since 2014, the Regions have governed residential leases and the civil effects of their registration, but the obligation to register remains a federal tax obligation. The Constitutional Court confirmed this in ruling no. 59/2025 of 3 April 2025: these duties are not regional taxes, and the Brussels Region had no power to abolish the federal registration of residential leases. In both Regions, the tax registration of the lease therefore remains with the FPS Finance.

Once the two-month period has passed, registration is still possible. However, the landlord risks a tax fine provided for by the Code of registration duties (€25 according to the Public Service of Wallonia) and, above all, the civil consequences described below. In Wallonia, the decree specifies that the costs of late registration are borne entirely by the landlord.

Which documents must be registered?

The signed lease. In Wallonia, the Walloon Government’s explanatory annex must be attached to the lease given to the tenant; the FPS Finance does not ask for it to be registered, but you can attach it free of charge. In Brussels, Irisrent asks for the lease with its annexes.
The check-in inventory: in Wallonia, it is attached to the lease and “also subject to registration”; in Brussels, it is part of the file to be uploaded to Irisrent.
Amendments: in Wallonia, the amendment concluded when a new co-tenant arrives must be registered, and this obligation rests with the new co-tenant. In Brussels, Bruxelles Logement recommends registering on Irisrent any amendment to a lease that is itself registered on Irisrent, for legal certainty.

If the inventory is signed after the lease, in Wallonia at the latest during the first month of occupation, register it separately as soon as it is signed.

How do you register the lease?

With the FPS Finance: MyRent or paper

Federal registration is easiest online, via MyRent, the FPS Finance application accessible through MyMinfin. You upload a copy of the signed lease and, if it is ready, the check-in inventory. A lease signed by hand or with a qualified electronic signature (for example with the electronic identity card) can be submitted. It is still possible to send a paper copy by post, together with the form provided for this purpose. You receive an acknowledgement of receipt, then proof of registration, known as the “relation d’enregistrement”. The registered lease and inventory then remain available free of charge in MyMinfin. Keep the proof of registration you receive: obtaining a new one requires a form and a fee.

In Brussels: MyRent and Irisrent

Since 1 January 2025, every lease for a home located in the Brussels-Capital Region must also be registered on Irisrent, the Bruxelles Logement platform (articles 228/1 et seq. of the Brussels Housing Code, introduced by the ordinance of 25 April 2024). This ordinance was meant to replace federal registration, but the Constitutional Court annulled that part of the text. A Brussels residential lease must therefore be registered twice: on Irisrent and on MyRent. Both registrations are free and must be done within two months of signing.

On Irisrent, you upload a copy of the lease signed by both parties, its annexes and the check-in inventory, and you enter the requested details about the parties, the home and the rent. You log in with your electronic identity card or itsme. Individuals can also send a paper form by post or hand it in at the Bruxelles Logement reception desk, but not by email. Landlords letting through a company are expected to use the platform. The paper form is processed within 20 days of receipt and, according to Bruxelles Logement, it is the registration date that counts: do not wait until the end of the two-month period. Registration gives rise to an acknowledgement of receipt showing its registration number, sent to the landlord and the tenant.

A Brussels lease signed before 2025 and already registered on MyRent does not need to be registered on Irisrent. If it has never been registered, it must be registered on Irisrent and, for the tax obligation, on MyRent. Leases that do not concern a home remain registered on MyRent only.

Unregistered lease in Wallonia: the risks

The tenant can leave without notice or compensation

For a main residence lease, after the two-month period and for as long as the lease is not registered, the tenant is no longer bound by the notice period or the compensation provided for by the lease or the decree (article 54 of the decree of 15 March 2018). There is one further condition: they must first give the landlord formal notice to register the lease, by registered post, by bailiff’s writ or by handing over a dated copy against a signed receipt, and this formal notice must have had no effect for one month. The rule applies to the 9-year lease as well as the short-term lease: the tenant can then leave at any time.

No indexation or upward rent review

For a main residence lease, indexation that increases the rent is due only if the lease was concluded in writing and registered (article 57). The same condition applies to an upward rent review (article 58). Indexation must also be requested in writing, and it has retroactive effect only for the three months preceding the month of the request. Late registration can therefore mean permanently losing months of indexation.

Reduced protection in the event of a sale

A written lease not drawn up by a notary has a certain date in particular from the day it is registered. If the lease has a certain date before the sale, the buyer takes over all the landlord’s rights and obligations (article 63). Without a certain date, the buyer takes them over only if the tenant has occupied the home for at least six months, and may then terminate the lease in the cases provided for by the decree, with three months’ notice given within three months of the deed of sale. If the tenant has occupied the home for less than six months, the buyer may terminate the lease without giving reasons or paying compensation.

Student leases and house shares

The tax obligation to register also applies to student leases and house-share leases. On the other hand, the sanctions described above (departure without notice, indexation and rent review subject to registration) fall under the rules for main residence leases. They apply to a student lease or a house-share lease only if the student or a co-tenant makes the home their main residence with the landlord’s express agreement (for a student lease, also that of the tenant if it is not the student; for a house share, that of all the co-tenants). The rules that apply in the event of a sale (article 63), however, do apply to these leases: the certain date, and therefore registration, matters for them too.

Unregistered lease in Brussels: sanctions without formal notice

Since 1 January 2025, article 228/5 of the Brussels Housing Code provides that, after the two-month period and for as long as the lease is not registered, notice periods, compensation owed by the tenant to the landlord and rent review arrangements do not apply. This covers in particular the notice and compensation for early departure under a 9-year or short-term lease, as well as the two-month notice period of a student lease. The tenant must still give notice: they are only exempt from the notice period and compensation. Unlike the old system, no prior formal notice is required any more. The ordinance contains no transitional rule for leases signed before 2025 and never registered: in that case, put things right without delay rather than relying on the old formal notice mechanism. According to Bruxelles Logement, it is the situation on the day the landlord receives the tenant’s notice that counts: if the lease is not registered at that moment, the tenant can leave without observing any notice period.

Indexation also requires a registered lease, as well as a copy of the EPC (PEB) given to the tenant (article 224/2). For a lease signed on or after 1 January 2025, Bruxelles Logement asks for proof of registration on Irisrent: registration on MyRent alone is therefore not enough to index. Conversely, registration on Irisrent does not exempt you from federal registration on MyRent.

Regional registration gives the lease a certain date and makes it enforceable against third parties. However, between the landlord and the tenant, an unregistered lease has exactly the same value as a registered one.

Short-term leases, oral leases and extensions

Short-term lease

A lease of up to 3 years follows the same registration rules as a 9-year lease. In Wallonia, a tenant who leaves before the end normally owes three months’ notice and compensation of one month’s rent; they are exempt from this if the lease is not registered and their formal notice has had no effect for one month. In Brussels, the exemption applies without formal notice.

Extending a short-term lease

In Wallonia, a short-term lease can be extended only twice, in writing and on the same terms, without exceeding three years in total. In Brussels, since 1 November 2024, it can be extended only once, in writing and on the same terms, without exceeding three years in total. The written document may be an amendment, a new lease or a clause in the original lease. If notice is not given in time, or if the tenant stays on without objection from the landlord, the lease is deemed to have been concluded for nine years from its start. Register the amendment or new lease within two months, like the original lease: it sets the new term, and its date must be provable.

Oral lease

An oral lease cannot be registered as it is. In Wallonia as in Brussels, the law requires a written lease, but a oral lease is not void for all that: if the other party does not respond within eight days of a formal notice sent by registered post or bailiff’s writ, the court can order them to sign a written lease, or even rule that its judgment stands as a written lease. As long as there is no registered written lease, the rent can be neither indexed nor reviewed upwards (in Wallonia for a main residence lease, in Brussels for any residential lease) and the lease has no certain date.

Common pitfalls and good practice

In Brussels, one registration is not enough: Irisrent determines indexation and notice periods, while MyRent meets the tax obligation. You need both.
Forgetting the inventory, especially if it is signed after the lease: it must be registered too.
Relying on outdated documents: some older information sheets still say that in Brussels the tenant must first give the landlord formal notice. This has no longer been required since 1 January 2025.
A lease signed electronically can be registered: use a qualified electronic signature (eID or itsme) and keep the original signed file.
If there are several landlords (a couple, joint owners), a single registration is enough: agree who will do it and share the proof.
The landlord may entrust registration to a third party, for example their property manager, but the obligation remains theirs. On Irisrent, Bruxelles Logement advises attaching the mandate, although this is not compulsory.
On Irisrent, check the address before submitting: it cannot be changed afterwards, and a registration cannot be deleted.
Keep the proof of registration (MyMinfin record, Irisrent references). You will need it to index the rent, to respond to a tenant who disputes something or when selling.

Wallonia and Brussels at a glance

	Wallonia	Brussels
Where to register?	FPS Finance (MyRent or paper)	Irisrent (Bruxelles Logement) and FPS Finance (MyRent or paper)
Deadline	2 months after signing	2 months after signing, for each of the two registrations
Cost	Free; a tax fine may apply if late	Free; a federal tax fine may apply if late
Who?	The landlord, who bears the costs of late registration; the tenant can also do it	The landlord; the tenant or a third party can also do it
Tenant leaving without notice or compensation	Main residence lease: after 2 months, if their formal notice has had no effect for one month (article 54)	After 2 months, without formal notice (article 228/5)
Indexation	Main residence lease: excluded without a registered written lease (article 57)	Excluded without registration and a copy of the EPC (article 224/2)
Upward rent review	Main residence lease: excluded without a registered written lease (article 58)	Excluded without registration (articles 240 and 228/5)
Certain date	From registration; protects the tenant in the event of a sale (article 63)	Regional registration gives a certain date and makes the lease enforceable against third parties

Frequently asked questions

Can the tenant register the lease themselves?

Yes, for a residential lease. The FPS Finance states that they may do so without being legally required to, and Bruxelles Logement also allows it on Irisrent. But the legal obligation remains the landlord’s: if they do not do it, they bear the consequences.

I forgot to register the lease: what should I do?

Register it straight away, with the inventory and any amendments, on MyRent and, in Brussels, on Irisrent. The civil sanctions apply only for as long as the lease is not registered. In Wallonia, if the tenant has given you formal notice, you have one month to put things right before they can leave without notice or compensation.

Is an unregistered lease void?

No. It has effect between the landlord and the tenant, but in principle it has no certain date with respect to third parties. It also deprives the landlord of several protections (tenant’s notice, indexation, upward review): in Wallonia for a main residence lease, in Brussels for any residential lease, including a student lease.

Does a lease of a few months need to be registered?

Yes. The obligation covers all leases of property used exclusively as a home, whatever their length, including a ten-month student lease.

My 2023 Brussels lease was registered on MyRent. Do I need to register it on Irisrent?

No. Irisrent concerns leases signed on or after 1 January 2025 and older leases that were never registered on MyRent. According to Bruxelles Logement, an amendment to a lease registered on MyRent before 2025 does not need to be uploaded to Irisrent either.

LCI keeps track of the registration of your leases

For the properties we manage, monitoring registration is part of our checks: lease, check-in inventory and amendments, on MyRent and, in Brussels, on Irisrent. We keep the proof of registration and check it before any indexation. 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. Commercial leases, other non-residential leases and mixed leases (for example a house with a shop or an office), which do not concern a property used exclusively as a home, follow other rules: a four-month deadline and paid registration. This information is general and does not replace an analysis of a particular situation.

Lease registration in Wallonia and Brussels: the 2026 guide for landlords