What should I do if my tenant does not pay their rent?

It is always difficult when investing in property to have a tenant who fails to pay their rent! If, unfortunately, you find yourself in this situation, what are your options? 

First of all, you should be aware that, without a court judgment, you cannot evict a tenant who does not pay their rent. You must therefore initiate legal proceedings, which can be very lengthy (at least 3–4 months), but unfortunately this is the only course of action if an amicable solution cannot be found.

1. CONCILIATION

The purpose of conciliation is to reach an agreement between both parties; the tenant and the landlord. For this procedure to have any chance of success, both parties must be willing to meet and find a solution together. Conciliation is free of charge. A request for conciliation can be made verbally to the registry of the Justice of the Peace Court. It is the most economical and often the quickest solution, but it requires the tenant who has failed to pay to cooperate.

2. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

If conciliation does not appear possible (or if it has been unsuccessful), legal proceedings will need to be initiated. There are three ways to do this:

• Firstly, an appearance before the Justice of the Peace. This may be voluntary on the part of both parties; they appear before the judge so that the judge can rule on a dispute.
• If a voluntary appearance is not an option, you can apply to the Justice of the Peace to submit an application for the tenant's eviction ; this document specifies the amount and number of unpaid rent instalments (as well as certain details relating to the tenancy agreement, such as its duration, start date, the amount of the rental deposit, the provisions applicable in the event of termination of the tenancy, etc.). You must attach a recent certificate of residence for the tenant to this application, which you can obtain from the municipality where the tenant is registered.
• The final option (and the most expensive) is to issue proceedings against the tenant through a bailiff.

During these legal proceedings, the judge does not automatically order the tenant's eviction. Judges are often lenient towards tenants and favour intermediate solutions where possible. If the tenant is solvent, the judge may, for example, order the tenant to pay their rent together with an additional amount to clear their arrears. In this case, the tenancy is not terminated, but if the rent is not paid after service of the judgment, the eviction procedure will be initiated.

3. THE JUDGMENT

When you appear before the Justice of the Peace, you do not receive the judgment immediately, even if the judge has already given an indication of the likely decision. If the decision is to evict, the tenant has one month to vacate the premises after service of the judgment.

4. SERVICE

Service simply means formally notifying the opposing party of the judge's decision. This is carried out by a bailiff.

5. EVICTION

The eviction takes place no earlier than one month after service of the judgment, as the bailiff must make arrangements with the municipality, the police, the locksmith and the removal company, all of whom must be present during the eviction. The average cost of covering the eviction expenses is 1.000 to 1.500 EUR. These costs are charged to the evicted tenant, but must be paid upfront by the landlord. Unfortunately, the landlord has little chance of recovering this amount if the tenant is insolvent.

In practical terms, during the eviction, the bailiff draws up an inventory of all the tenant's belongings and has the removal company transport them to the location chosen by the tenant. If the tenant has nowhere to store their belongings, they will be kept at the municipal storage facility for a maximum of 6 months, after which the tenant must collect them at their own expense (storage and collection costs).

DID YOU KNOW?

• Contrary to what many people believe, there is no winter moratorium on evictions in Belgium (except for social housing). This is at the judge's discretion, and judges are often fairly protective of tenants.
• The CPAS is automatically informed when a person is due to be evicted. The purpose is to enable the CPAS to advise and assist the evicted tenant, although it is under no obligation to find them new accommodation.
• You cannot stipulate in the tenancy agreement that the tenant will be evicted in the event of non-payment. A court judgment is required for this.
• An application for eviction is generally considered justified after 3 months of payment arrears.

In summary : legal proceedings > obtain a judgment terminating the tenancy and ordering the eviction > service of the judgment on the tenant > eviction.