Is your Brussels rent too high?

Reference rent in the 19 Brussels communes

The official grid sets a reference for each statistical sector. Each amount below is the median of a commune’s sector references, in euros a month before charges. The last column is 20% above the two-bedroom reference: a rent above it for that apartment is presumed abusive.

Assumed for every dwelling: built before 2000, central heating, double glazing, one bathroom, no terrace, garden or garage, energy class E. Source: loyers.brussels, read sector by sector on 10 July 2026.

What is the Brussels reference rent?

The reference-rent grid estimates a monthly rent from the home’s location and characteristics, including type, surface, rooms, condition and amenities. The lease must mention the reference rent in addition to the actual rent.

Use the correct characteristics. A wrong surface, room count or comfort assumption can move the result. Compare base rent with base rent; charges need their own review.

Within a commune the grid changes from street to street: our pages on Brussels reference rents by commune give the reference for each statistical sector:

• Reference rent in Ixelles
• Reference rent in Saint-Gilles
• Reference rent in Schaerbeek
• Reference rent in Etterbeek

What does the 20% threshold mean?

A rent more than 20% above its reference rent is presumed abusive. The landlord can rebut that presumption by showing substantial comfort features in the home or its surroundings. A rent no more than 20% above its reference can still be presumed abusive when the home or its surroundings have substantial quality defects.

The rule is in article 224 of the Brussels Housing Code. Since 1 May 2025, article 224/1 also forbids a landlord to offer an abusive rent and lets the tenant ask for a revision. The table above gives the 20% line for a two-bedroom apartment in each commune; for your own home, calculate the reference on loyers.brussels.

How should you check an asking rent?

1. Calculate the official reference: Use the exact address and honest property characteristics, then save the result.
2. Separate rent from charges: Request a clear breakdown of common and private charges and ask how advances are reconciled.
3. Compare nearby rentals: Use similar size, furnishing, condition and contract type. Live listings show the current alternatives, not completed agreements.
4. Document comfort and defects: Lift, outdoor space and strong energy performance may support a premium; damp, noise, poor condition or missing equipment can support the opposite case.
5. Check the lease before signing: Review duration, charges, indexation, deposit, insurance, repairs and the move-in inspection, not only the headline rent.

What can a tenant do about a possibly abusive rent?

Start by collecting the lease, the reference-rent result, the listing, photos, the charges and evidence of relevant defects or comforts.

On a lease of more than one year and at most three, a tenant can ask for a revision from the third month, once two full months have passed; on a longer lease, such as the usual nine-year one, from the fourth month. If a court has already made the landlord revise an abusive rent for the same home, the tenant can ask at any time. Either the tenant or the landlord can ask the Joint Rental Commission (Commission paritaire locative) for a non-binding opinion. The justice of the peace can rule on the revision, directly or once the commission’s conciliation ends without agreement.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and methodology

Rules and figures are time-sensitive. Check the linked official source before making a financial or legal decision. Methodology

• Reference rents – Brussels-Capital Region
• Reference rent calculator, loyers.brussels – Brussels-Capital Region
• Brussels Housing Code, articles 224 and 224/1 – FPS Justice (Justel)
• Residential lease rules – Brussels-Capital Region

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