Before buying, confirm the PEB (Energy Performance Certificate) and the electrical compliance certificate, the soil and urban-planning information, clear title, and, for a flat, the co-ownership accounts. Check your financing and the registration duties too. The notary verifies most of this before the deed. Source: Notaire.be.
A sound purchase rests on a handful of checks, and most are documents the seller must supply and the notary verifies. Knowing them lets you ask the right questions early rather than discovering a problem after you are bound.
Start with the energy and safety papers. The PEB (Energy Performance Certificate) is mandatory for any sale in Wallonia and tells you the property’s energy rating, which affects both running costs and, for a landlord, whether rent indexation is limited on a poor F or G rating. The electrical compliance certificate (CE) reports whether the electrical installation meets the standard; if it does not, the buyer has a fixed deadline of 18 months to bring it up to standard. Source: peb-connect / Atlas Contrôle 2026. Then the legal layer: the soil information from the Walloon database, the urban-planning extract from the commune, the cadastral information, and confirmation of clear title with no lingering mortgage or charge. Source: Notaire.be.
For an apartment, add the co-ownership documents and syndic statements, which reveal planned works, arrears and the health of the building’s finances, the classic hidden cost that a viewing alone never shows.
The counter-intuitive point is that the biggest risks are rarely visible on a viewing: an F-rated PEB, a non-compliant installation, a planning irregularity or a looming co-ownership levy shape the true cost far more than the decor. Your own financing and the applicable registration duty (3% or 12.5%) round out the checklist. An Easyhome adviser helps you confirm each item before you sign.
At a glance
- PEB (Energy Performance Certificate): mandatory, shows the energy rating
- Electrical compliance certificate (CE): 18 months to fix if non-compliant
- Soil information from the Walloon database
- Urban-planning extract from the commune and cadastral information
- Clear title: no outstanding mortgage or charge
- For a flat: co-ownership accounts, planned works and arrears
- Your financing and the registration duty (3% or 12.5%)