Asbestos legislation in Flanders and Brussels
Three frameworks, three situations. Below is what you need when, and which dates matter.
Flanders: the asbestos certificate
Required when selling, gifting or dividing a building built before 2001. Issued by OVAM, valid for ten years.
Asbestos certificateBrussels: the asbestos inventory
Needed above 500 m² of demolition or renovation, and before any asbestos works requiring notification or an environmental permit.
Inventory BrusselsFederal: the code
Every employer needs an inventory and a management programme for the buildings they manage. To be updated annually.
Employer inventoryThe asbestos certificate in detail.
| Topic | What applies |
|---|---|
| Scope | Every accessible structure built before 2001, with a ground area of at least 20 m². A smaller structure is also covered when it forms part of a larger whole that does reach 20 m². |
| When required | At every transfer between living persons: sale, gift, division. The content is communicated on signing the private sale agreement. |
| Since when | 23 November 2022. The common parts of an apartment building count as a separate building unit with their own certificate. |
| Period of validity | Ten years. Five years for high-risk materials. Indefinitely where no asbestos is found. |
| Who draws it up | A certified asbestos inventory expert. OVAM issues the certificate and it appears in the housing passport. |
| Letting | Letting does not in itself require a certificate. If you hold one, you give the tenant a copy. From 2030 that becomes compulsory for new tenancy agreements. |
| Fee | OVAM charges 59 euros for issuing the certificate. |
| By 2032 | Every owner of a building built before 2001 must hold an asbestos certificate, even without a sale. |
An inventory before the first hammer blow.
In Brussels the obligation is not tied to a sale but to works. It applies in two situations:
- Area above 500 m² — for the total demolition or the renovation of an area larger than 500 m² of a building permitted before 1 October 1998. Here the inventory must be attached to the permit application, on the standard form from annex 1 of the Asbestos Order of 10 April 2008.
- For any asbestos works — as soon as you remove asbestos in a way that requires a notification or an environmental permit, regardless of the area, a prior asbestos inventory is compulsory.
In Brussels there is no general removal obligation: asbestos has to go when it would be damaged by the works, or in the event of demolition.
The code on well-being at work
Book VI, title 3 governs the protection of workers against asbestos. The essentials for you as an employer:
- You draw up an inventory of all asbestos-containing materials in the buildings and installations you manage.
- You put together a management programme to keep exposure as low as possible.
- You update both annually, and after every change.
- You make the inventory available to your prevention adviser, the committee and every external firm.
- You mark the presence of asbestos with the labels provided for that purpose.
Where does asbestos sit in a house?
Almost any building from before 2001 may contain asbestos-containing materials. Our knowledge page shows a cross-section with the six places where we find it most often.
This page is a guide, not legal advice. For your specific file, the current text from OVAM, Brussels Environment or the federal employment service always prevails.
Know the price within 24 hours.
The form takes two minutes. You get one fixed price, with no obligation.