Yes. If legal cohabitants bought the property together, they own it in indivision and both must consent to sell, splitting the proceeds by their shares. Crucially, the family home cannot be sold by one partner alone, even the sole owner, without the other’s agreement (Notaire.be, 2026).
Legal cohabitation (cohabitation légale) in Belgium is a registered status that sits between informal cohabitation and marriage. On property, its starting point is separation of assets: each partner keeps what they can prove is theirs. Where a home was bought jointly, both names on the deed, it is held in indivision, and selling it follows the ordinary co-ownership rule that every co-owner must consent and sign. Neither partner can force the sale of the other’s share amicably, and neither can be kept in the indivision indefinitely.
A special and often surprising protection applies to the shared family home, and it goes further than co-ownership alone. Under the rules protecting the residence of legal cohabitants, the family home and its furniture cannot be sold, mortgaged or otherwise disposed of by one cohabitant without the other’s consent, even if that home legally belongs to only one of them (Notaire.be, 2026). So a legal cohabitant who is the sole owner still cannot sell the family home over their partner’s objection while the cohabitation lasts. This mirrors a protection married couples enjoy and is one of the main legal effects of registering the cohabitation.
Where the partners disagree, the exit routes are the familiar ones for indivision. They can agree an amicable sale, one can buy out the other’s share (taxed at the Walloon partition duty of 1%, Notaire.be, 2026), or, failing agreement, a court can order a sale to dissolve the co-ownership. Ending the legal cohabitation itself is administratively simple, by joint or unilateral declaration to the municipality, but it does not automatically divide the property: the indivision must still be liquidated.
The practical takeaway is that a jointly owned home held by legal cohabitants sells much like any co-owned property, with the added rule that the family home enjoys reinforced protection requiring both partners’ agreement regardless of whose name is on the title.
At a glance
| Situation | Rule |
|---|---|
| Jointly bought home | Held in indivision, both must consent to sell |
| Family home owned by one partner | Cannot be sold without the other’s consent (Notaire.be, 2026) |
| One partner buys out the other | Partition, 1% duty in Wallonia (Notaire.be, 2026) |
| Deadlock | Court can order sale to dissolve indivision |
| Ending cohabitation | Declaration to the municipality; property still to be liquidated |