Does your tenant want to terminate their tenancy agreement early?

Imagine this: you entered into a two-year principal residence tenancy agreement with your current tenant, but now… they wish to terminate it early. What should you do?

Federal legislation on residential tenancies has recently changed. The rules governing the termination of tenancy agreements in Belgium have been relaxed.

In Flanders, tenants who signed their tenancy agreement from 2019 onwards may terminate it by giving three months’ notice. Depending on whether the agreement ends during the first, second or third year after the tenancy start date, the landlord will receive compensation. This is equivalent to half a month’s, one month’s or one and a half months’ rent.
However, residential tenancy agreements signed before 2019 remain subject to the previous rules.

In Wallonia and Brussels, tenants may now also terminate a short-term tenancy agreement at any time, provided they give three months’ notice. 
The difference lies in the compensation payable to the landlord: it is equivalent to one month’s rent, regardless of whether the tenant has occupied the property for six months, one year or two years.