Yes, materially. In Wallonia a poor Energy Performance Certificate (PEB) rating lowers both the sale price and the rentability of a home, while a good rating supports value. The PEB is mandatory for sale, rental and advertising (source: peb-connect and neocompare, 2026), so buyers see it up front.
The energy rating is no longer a technicality tucked in the file; it is one of the first things a buyer weighs, and it moves price. Every property offered for sale or rent in Wallonia must carry a valid PEB certificate, and it must appear in the advertising (source: peb-connect and neocompare, 2026), so a weak rating is public from the first click.
A poor rating bites in two ways. It signals higher running costs and looming renovation spending to a buyer, who prices that in with a lower offer. And it hurts rentability: Wallonia limits or blocks rent indexation on the worst-rated F and G dwellings, so an investor cannot fully raise the rent over time. The counter-intuitive effect is that two otherwise similar houses can sell at visibly different prices purely on their PEB letter.
A strong rating does the reverse. It reassures on bills, avoids the indexation cap, and widens the buyer pool, which supports price in a market where energy performance is an increasingly hard filter.
The certificate itself is inexpensive relative to its influence: a house PEB runs about 250 to 380 euros and lasts ten years (source: peb-connect and neocompare, 2026). Improving the rating before sale, backed by Wallonia’s Primes Habitation grants, can pay back through both a higher price and a faster deal. Note this is the PEB certificate, a different document from the electrical compliance certificate (CE) also required at sale.
At a glance
- Poor PEB: lower offers and reduced rentability; F and G face rent-indexation caps.
- Good PEB: reassures on costs, widens the buyer pool, supports price.
- Mandatory: PEB required for sale, rental and advertising in Wallonia.
- Visibility: the rating must appear in the listing, so buyers see it at once.
- PEB certificate cost: about 250 to 380 euros for a house, valid 10 years (source: peb-connect/neocompare, 2026).
- Improve before selling: renovation aid (Primes Habitation) can lift both rating and price.