Asbestos certificate and inventory in Brussels
Bestos is itself based in Brussels, in Schaerbeek, and knows the specific rules of the Brussels-Capital Region. That matters: obligations in Brussels differ from those in Flanders.
The Brussels Region has no Flemish asbestos certificate; what applies there is an asbestos inventory, compulsory among other things for demolition and renovation works and before any asbestos worksite. Because we are based in Brussels, we are quickly on site in the nineteen municipalities, from the classic townhouses of Schaerbeek and Ixelles to the post-war flats on the edge. We explain clearly, in advance, which document you need in your situation.
When do you actually need an asbestos inventory here?
In two cases: on total demolition or a renovation above 500 m² of a building permitted before 1 October 1998, and on any asbestos removal requiring a notification or an environmental permit.
The obligation hangs on the works, not on the transfer of ownership. Selling, giving or bequeathing changes nothing about it. The first case turns on the permit application: if you demolish a building entirely or renovate more than 500 m² of it, and that building was permitted before 1 October 1998, the inventory belongs with the file. A subdivided townhouse rarely reaches that surface area; an office building or an old workshop does.
The second case does not look at surface area at all. As soon as asbestos is removed for which a notification or an environmental permit is required, the inventory has to be in place before the contractor starts. That can just as easily concern the roof of a single extension as a whole floor.
If neither case arises, Brussels legislation imposes no inventory obligation. If you manage the building as an employer, federal legislation applies alongside, even without works. If the buyer has work carried out after the purchase that falls under one of the two cases, it is the buyer who has the inventory drawn up.
I live in Brussels and am selling a property in Flanders. Do I need an asbestos certificate?
Yes. The certificate hangs on the address of the building, so for a property in the Flemish Region from before 2001 you need one.
A family home in Aarschot, an investment property in Halle, a flat on the coast: if the building stands in the Flemish Region, dates from before 2001 and covers at least 20 m² of accessible structure, a certificate belongs with the sale, the gift or any other transfer between living persons. The content has to be known when you sign the private sale agreement, so the certificate has to exist before then. It is issued by OVAM and carries a unique number.
If in the same period you are also selling a property on this side of the border, the two files do not run in parallel: the Flemish property needs a certificate, the other needs none. That does not mean no document will ever be needed for that property. If work comes along later that falls under one of the two cases, or if you manage it as an employer, the inventory comes into view after all.
Who arranges the inventory in a block of flats?
For the common parts that is the owners association, through the managing agent; for their own flat, each owner separately.
Subdivided townhouses with three or four units and post-war blocks with a shared boiler room are common here. Fibre cement in the roof of a rear extension, an old flue in a duct, pipe insulation in the cellar, floor covering in the stairwell: those places lie outside your flat. They belong to the owners association, not to an individual owner.
Works in themselves bring no inventory obligation there. Renewing a roof or taking out a chimney rarely reaches the 500 m² of the permit rule in such a building. If asbestos is removed during that work for which a notification or an environmental permit is required, the inventory does have to be in place before the contractor starts, whatever the surface area. It is the managing agent who puts that on the agenda of the general meeting.
There is one more reason why such a building may need one. If the association employs staff, a caretaker or someone for the maintenance, it is an employer, and the federal code then requires an inventory of the buildings it manages, with a management programme updated every year. That stands apart from any worksite.
Two Regions, two documents.
The property decides which rules apply. If it lies in Brussels, there is no certificate but an inventory.
- On the sale of a property in the Region no certificate is required
- Property in Flanders, owner here: the Flemish certificate obligation still applies
- Inventory on demolition or renovation above 500 m², permitted before October 1998
- Any asbestos removal with a notification or environmental permit: inventory before the start
The nineteen municipalities
Our office is in Schaerbeek. Across the Region we are usually on site within half an hour.
The Brussels inventory
When it is compulsory, what it contains and how it reaches your permit application.
Inventory BrusselsBriefly answered.
In Brussels the Flemish asbestos certificate does not apply, but an asbestos inventory does, among other things for renovation or demolition. We explain what applies in your case.
Yes, our office is in Schaerbeek. We work across the nineteen municipalities.
Usually within the week.
An OVAM asbestos certificate can only be issued for a building in Flanders. We can draw up a voluntary inventory with comparable content: per material the location, the quantity and the condition, with photos. That document has no certificate number and no statutory period of validity.
Not for asbestos: on a sale here no inventory is compulsory, not even of the common parts. If one already exists, because the association had work carried out or employs staff, it is reasonable to add it to the sale documents.
Of the inventory on demolition or renovation above 500 m² you are, because that obligation hangs on the permit date. If asbestos is removed later for which a notification or an environmental permit is required, a prior inventory is still needed.
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The form takes two minutes. You get one fixed price, with no obligation.