Selling your property furnished?

The sale of a property covers only the land, the walls and everything permanently attached to it that is necessary for its use.

However, you always have the option of including your furniture in the sale. What does this involve? What precautions should you take? This article provides all the information you need to know on the subject.

Should you sell your property furnished or unfurnished?

Buying a furnished property is common practice in other parts of the world, but in our part of the world buyers tend to prefer taking care of the interior decoration themselves.

However, if your property is already furnished and you wish to leave all or some of the furniture, nothing prevents you from including it in the contract.

In some cases, this may even prove to be a selling point, although such cases remain relatively rare.

What does selling a furnished property involve?

First and foremost, it is important to distinguish between immovable and movable property:

According to Article 517 of the Belgian Civil Code: “Property is immovable either by its nature, by its intended use, or by the object to which it relates.”

“By its nature”: building land and houses, water pipes

“By its intended use”: everything permanently attached to the building

“By the object to which it relates”: rights in rem such as easements or usufruct

Some items of furniture may therefore be regarded as immovable property: anything that is fixed in place or could not be removed without damaging the walls. Examples include fitted mirrors, fireplaces, external blinds and bespoke bookcases.

On the other hand, appliances that are not fixed to the wall, curtain rods, curtains and garden furniture… are regarded as movable property. In all cases, clearly specify in the preliminary sale agreement what is and is not included in order to avoid misunderstandings.

This may be beneficial for the buyer!

There is a tax advantage to purchasing a furnished property. The value of the furniture can be deducted from the amount subject to registration duties, which may represent a significant benefit and help with negotiations.

As a reminder, registration duties amount to 12.5% in the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region (Article 44 of the Registration Duties Code), although allowances or reductions may apply.

Precautions for the seller

In principle, it is understood that the property is sold as presented during viewings. However, imagine that the prospective buyer viewed your house while it was still occupied…

Suppose you remove all the furniture after the sale: the fact that your bed or sofa has disappeared should not pose a problem, as these are movable items by definition. However, what may be less obvious to some buyers is if, for example, you decide to remove the fridge, oven and hob because they were not fixed to the wall.

To avoid any surprises, we recommend that the parties clearly specify in the preliminary sale agreement exactly what is included and, where applicable, explain during the viewing what you will be taking with you.

So, if you are flexible or unable to decide, do not hesitate to give prospective buyers the choice. This will ensure that you keep all your options open. In all cases, be clear during negotiations and when signing the preliminary sale agreement.