An agency is not obliged to accept every mandate. As an IPI-licensed agency, Easyhome can decline to market a property where it cannot list it properly, for example if the mandatory documents are missing, the seller is not entitled to sell, or the asking price is set so far above the market that a genuine sale is not realistic. The aim is an honest, deliverable listing.
Taking on a property is a professional commitment, so a serious agency applies judgement about what it can realistically deliver. Estate agents in Belgium must be IPI-licensed (the Belgian Professional Institute of Real Estate Agents), and that framework comes with duties to advertise properties accurately and lawfully. An agency that promises what it cannot deliver serves no one.
There are practical reasons a mandate might not proceed. A sale in Wallonia requires a defined legal file, including the Energy Performance Certificate (PEB), the electrical compliance certificate (CE), soil information (BDES), urban-planning information and the cadastral extract, plus co-ownership documents for a flat. If those cannot be produced, the property cannot lawfully be advertised, so the listing has to wait until the file is complete. Likewise, the person instructing the agency has to be entitled to sell, which for a jointly owned property means all co-owners must consent.
The most common sticking point is price. Because Easyhome’s whole method, and its 15-day promise, rests on a correctly assessed value, a demand to market far above the evidence undermines the very commitment the agency makes. The counter-intuitive fact is that declining an unrealistic listing usually protects the seller: a property launched too high tends to stall and later sell for less than a correctly priced one would have.
In practice this rarely means a flat refusal. It usually means fixing the file or the price first, and your adviser will tell you honestly what a workable listing requires.
At a glance
- Missing legal file: no PEB, CE or required documents means the listing must wait.
- No right to sell: all co-owners of a jointly owned property must consent.
- Unrealistic price: far above the market undermines a genuine sale and the promise.
- Lawful advertising: IPI duties require accurate, compliant listings.
- Usual outcome: not a refusal but fixing the file or price first.
- Honest advice: your adviser explains what a workable listing needs.