As a tenant in Flanders, you can always terminate your lease, without giving a reason, with three months’ notice. If you terminate during the first three years, you pay compensation of one to three months’ rent. Your landlord can only terminate to live in the property themselves, to carry out major renovation work or without a reason at the end of a three-year period, each time with six months’ notice. The notice period always starts on the first day of the month after you give notice.
These rules come from the Flemish Residential Tenancy Decree and apply to residential leases signed since 1 January 2019. Below you will find the notice period and compensation for each situation, a worked example, the pitfalls to avoid and a sample letter.
All notice periods and compensation at a glance
| Situation | Notice period | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Tenant, 9-year lease, ends in year 1 | 3 months | 3 months’ rent |
| Tenant, 9-year lease, ends in year 2 | 3 months | 2 months’ rent |
| Tenant, 9-year lease, ends in year 3 | 3 months | 1 month’s rent |
| Tenant, 9-year lease, ends from year 4 onwards | 3 months | none |
| Tenant, lease of 3 years or less | 3 months | 1.5, 1 or 0.5 months’ rent if it ends in year 1, 2 or 3 |
| Tenant, lease not registered | none | none |
| Tenant, counter-notice after notice from the landlord | 1 month | none |
| Landlord, own occupation | 6 months | none |
| Landlord, major renovation | 6 months | none |
| Landlord, no reason after 3 years | 6 months | 9 months’ rent |
| Landlord, no reason after 6 years | 6 months | 6 months’ rent |
| Landlord, lease of 3 years or less | 3 months before the end date | none, early termination is not possible |
To find out which type of lease you have, see our overview of the types of leases. A lease that states no duration, or a duration between three and nine years, counts as a nine-year lease.
How to work out your end date
The notice period does not start on the day you send your letter, but on the first day of the following month. If you give three months’ notice on 12 March, it starts on 1 April and you rent up to and including 30 June. If you give notice on 31 March, your end date is the same. If you give notice on 1 April, everything moves up a month and you rent until 31 July.
The compensation depends on the year of the lease in which your notice period ends, not on when you give notice. If your notice period ends just after the second anniversary of the lease, you are in the third year and you pay one month’s rent instead of two.
Giving notice as a tenant
Nine-year lease
You can give notice at any time, for any reason, with three months’ notice. During the first three years of the lease you pay compensation: three months’ rent in year 1, two in year 2 and one in year 3. After that, you pay nothing. If you want to leave at the end of the nine years, give notice at least three months before the end date. If nobody does, the lease is automatically extended, each time by three years.
Lease of three years or less
In Flanders you can also end a short-term lease early, with three months’ notice and compensation of one and a half months’ rent in the first year, one month in the second and half a month in the third. Under the old federal rules this was not possible.
Keep an eye on the end of such a lease. It does not stop by itself. If nobody gives notice at least three months before the end date, it automatically becomes a nine-year lease, counted from the original start date. You can extend a short-term lease once, in writing, as long as the total duration does not exceed three years.
The lease is not registered
The landlord must register the lease within two months of signing. If they have not done so, you can terminate without a notice period and without compensation. You still have to inform your landlord, and the lease ends on the first day of the month after your notice. If in doubt, ask your landlord for proof of registration.
Counter-notice
If your landlord gives notice, you do not have to wait six months. With a counter-notice you can leave after just one month, without compensation, even during the first three years. That is useful if you find a new home quickly.
Giving notice as a landlord
A landlord can only end a nine-year lease for one of the three reasons set out in the law, and the reason must be stated in the notice letter. A reason you do not carry out afterwards costs you damages of eighteen months’ rent.
Living there yourself or letting a family member live there
You can give notice at any time, with six months’ notice, to live in the property yourself. For a family member, the lease can only end after the first three years. Eligible are: your partner, your children and grandchildren, your parents and grandparents, and your brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces, including those of your partner. State in the letter who will move in and how that person is related to you.
The new occupant must move in within a year of the end of the notice period and actually live there for at least two years.
Tenant and landlord can exclude this option in the lease. If your lease contains such a clause, the landlord cannot give notice for own occupation.
Major renovation
You can give notice for renovation work with six months’ notice, but the lease does not end before the end of the first three-year period. The work must affect the part of the property the tenant lives in, comply with planning rules and cost more than three years’ rent. You prove it with an environmental permit, specifications, an estimate or a building contract. The work must start within six months and be finished within 24 months of the end of the notice period.
Without a reason
This is only possible at the end of the first or second three-year period, with six months’ notice. You then pay the tenant nine or six months’ rent. At the end of the nine years you can give notice without compensation, at least six months before the end date.
A short-term lease
As a landlord, you cannot end a lease of three years or less early, except by mutual agreement. If you want to end it on the end date, send a notice letter at least three months in advance.
Giving notice without mistakes
The law does not require a fixed form for the tenant, but you must be able to prove that your notice arrived on time. If it arrives even one day late, your end date moves back or the lease continues. So send your notice by registered letter, or hand it over against a signed receipt. An email or message is harder to prove.
Include in your letter:
- your name and those of all tenants, and the name and address of the landlord;
- the address of the property and the date of the lease;
- that you are terminating the lease, and the end date of your notice period;
- the compensation you will pay, if applicable;
- the signatures of all tenants who signed the lease.
A landlord also states the reason and, for own occupation by a family member, the name and family relationship of the new occupant.
Sample letter for a tenant
[Your name and address]
[Name and address of the landlord]
[Place], [date]By registered post
Re: termination of the lease for [address of the property]
Dear [name of landlord],
I hereby give notice to terminate the lease of [date of lease] for the property at [address]. The three-month notice period starts on [first day of the following month] and ends on [end date]. [If applicable: As the notice period ends in the [first/second/third] year of the lease, I will pay compensation of [number] months’ rent, or [amount] euros.]
I would like to agree on a date for the check-out inventory and the release of the rental deposit.
Kind regards,
[Signatures of all tenants]
Situations tenants most often have doubts about
Your landlord sells the property
A sale does not end your lease. The buyer takes the place of the landlord. For leases since 2019, the buyer must follow the same notice rules as the previous owner and does not get shorter notice periods.
You want to leave before your notice period ends
That is only possible by mutual agreement. Propose a new tenant or ask for an amicable termination, and always put the agreement in writing. Without an agreement, you pay rent until the end of your notice period.
Your lease dates from before 2019
Then the old federal rules apply, which differ on a few points. For example, you cannot end a short-term lease from before 2019 early, and an unregistered nine-year lease ends immediately, without notice and without compensation.
You rent social housing or a student room
Separate rules apply to these. For social housing, you will find them in our guide to the rules for social renting (in Dutch).
Wrapping up your last month properly
A valid notice is not the end of it. Arrange a check-out inventory in good time and compare it with the one made at the start. Your landlord uses it to decide whether they may keep part of your rental deposit. Read the meters, transfer your energy contract and register your change of address. If you cannot agree on the notice or the deposit, rental mediation is faster and cheaper than the justice of the peace.
Frequently asked questions
Can I terminate my lease by email?
There is no strict form for the tenant, but you must be able to prove that the landlord received your notice on time. A registered letter or delivery against a receipt is therefore safer.
When does the notice period start?
On the first day of the month following the month in which you give notice.
Do I have to give a reason as a tenant?
No. A tenant never has to give a reason. A landlord does, except when giving notice without a reason at the end of a three-year period.
How much compensation do I pay if I leave after a year and a half?
With a nine-year lease, it depends on when your notice period ends. If it ends in the second year of the lease, you pay two months’ rent. If it ends in the third year, it is one month.
What if my landlord does not move in after giving notice for own occupation?
Then you are entitled to damages of eighteen months’ rent, unless they can show exceptional circumstances.
One day can cost a month’s rent
Most disputes about notice are not about the rules themselves, but about dates: a letter that arrives on the first of the month instead of the last, a year of the lease that has just ended, a short-term lease that quietly turned into a nine-year one. Put your lease next to the table above, work out your end date and send your notice a few days before the end of the month. Then you will know exactly until when you pay rent.
