New Airbnb rules in Brussels from 2027: what changes for property owners

On 10 July 2026, the Brussels Government adopted the implementing decree of the new ordinance on tourist accommodation run by private individuals. It takes effect on 1 January 2027. The good news: it lightens several procedures widely seen as too burdensome, without removing the underlying obligations.

Who is concerned?

The new framework covers tourist accommodation operated by private individuals hosting up to ten people. That is the most common setup in Brussels: a flat, a studio or a room in the owner's home listed on Airbnb, Booking or Abritel. Larger or professional operations fall under a separate regime.

Minister-President Boris Dilliès, who initiated the text, presented the reform as an answer to a framework that had become unreadable for private hosts. The stated aim: to reconcile tourist accommodation — valuable to the Brussels economy — with better oversight and genuine administrative simplification.

What remains mandatory

Do not read this reform as deregulation. The two central procedures are maintained:

• Prior registration with Brussels Economy and Employment, with the registration number to be displayed on your listings. The procedure is set out in our guide Airbnb registration in Brussels.
• Enrolment and the declaration of overnight stays with Brussels Taxation, together with the corresponding regional tax.

In other words: it is the supporting documents that become lighter, not the principle of declaring. The wider context is a reminder — in the first half of 2026 Brussels Taxation launched a regularisation campaign targeting around 5,000 undeclared operators, after a summer 2025 operation that recovered 2.8 million euros.

Three concrete simplifications

• No more town-planning compliance certificate for a main residence. Owners renting out their own home will no longer have to produce this document, which is often slow and costly to obtain.
• A lighter safety certificate. The check becomes a written procedure covering four points — electrical installations, gas, heating and fire extinguisher — with the cost capped at 150 euros. Its validity also goes from five to eight years.
• Clearer rules in co-ownership buildings. Operators will be able to apply for registration after informing the managing agent, or where the co-ownership rules already authorise the activity.

A communication plan is due to support operators in becoming compliant before the rules take effect.

What we suggest you do now

You have five months before the 1 January 2027 deadline. Three useful reflexes:

• Check where you stand today. If your property is not yet registered or your overnight stays are not declared, regularise without waiting: the reform does not retroactively make a non-compliant file compliant.
• Plan ahead for the safety certificate. If yours is approaching expiry, check which regime applies at the time of renewal.
• Look at the managing agent side. In a co-ownership building, written notice to the managing agent is a useful record to keep.

Sabimmo handles the follow-up

Regulatory monitoring, registration, declaration of overnight stays, monthly reporting: we take care of the administrative side of your short-term rental across the 19 Brussels communes — from Ixelles to Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. See our packages or request your free estimate →