The Constitutional Court ruled to uphold the framework that protects tenants in the Brussels-Capital Region from excessive rents, announced Brussels State Secretary for Housing Karine Lalieux (PS) on Thursday.
The court dismissed the appeal against a Brussels' ordinance designed to combat excessive rents in the capital. The appeal was brought by several associations representing landlords and the construction sector and two private landlords in April 2025.
"This decision provides certainty regarding an essential tool for better protecting tenants," said Lalieux in a press release.
She added that she welcomed "the tone of the judgement", and would further tighten the Capital Region's approach to excessive rents, including a thorough review of the rent scale.
Better protecting tenants
Following this ruling, the Brussels measures in the protective framework can be rolled out further.
"Our aim is clear: to better protect tenants facing excessive rents, while leaving as much scope as possible for mediation between landlords and tenants," said Lalieux.
The upheld ordinace provides for the entry into force of various provisions of the Brussels Housing Code, which arose from a previous ordinance (28 October 2021) and established a Joint Rent Commission to combat excessive rents.
These provisions include, among other things
- the obligation for landlords not to charge excessive rents,
- the possibility for tenants to seek an opinion from the Joint Rent Commission regarding a rent they consider excessive (or, where appropriate, to seek a review through the courts).
Brussels region state secretary Karine Lalieux pictured during a press conference, on Thursday 16 July 2026. Credit: Belga/Nicolas Maeterlinck
Lalieux underlined that the Joint Rent Commission is "an indispensable tool" in this regard, as it offers tenants an additional means of asserting their rights without necessarily having to initiate legal proceedings, but she also stressed the importance of the measures continuing to evolve.
"The rent scale, which is one of the pillars of this policy, must be made more reliable and provide a more representative picture of the reality of the Brussels rental market," Lalieux said. "That is why the government has committed to thoroughly revising the scale during this parliamentary term."
An updated and strengthened rent scale
Lalieux intends to make the updating of the rent scale one of the key priorities of this legislative term's policy. This revision will take place in two phases.
The first phase involves updating the variables and equations of the scale's statistical model based on the most recent data. The second involves collecting new, more comprehensive data to better reflect the reality of the rental market across all Brussels municipalities.
The main aim is to fill certain gaps in the available data, including the over-representation of tenancy agreements from the most affluent municipalities and the under-representation of older agreements.
"We want to make rapid progress, but we must not act hastily. For a rent index to be truly meaningful, it must be based on a robust database that is representative of the entire Brussels rental market," Lalieux stressed. "All municipalities and all aspects of the rental market must be accurately reflected in it."
A 'For Rent' sign in Brussels. Credit: Belga/Siska Gremmelprez
The revision is expected to take several months. Then, a fully updated rent index can be ready "within two years".
With this in mind, Lalieux also intends to revitalise the activities of the Rent Observatory and the field research to obtain a more complete and reliable picture of rents in the Brussels-Capital Region.
The new overview must be able to draw on the data available via the regional platform Irisrent and take better account of the influence of a property’s location on the rent. The results of the Rent Observatory’s new surveys will also be incorporated.
At the same time, work is being carried out in collaboration with the administration to ensure smoother access for all tenants to the Joint Rent Commission and to improve the functioning of this body.
"The Court’s ruling does not mean that the work is done," she stressed. "On the contrary. It is now our task to make this policy as efficient as possible."
