Setting up as an estate agent in Belgium

You wish to carry out the activity as a natural person

If you wish to carry out the profession of estate agent as a natural person, you must meet the conditions for access to and practice of the profession.

What are the conditions for access to the profession?

As a natural person, you must meet the following conditions:

• not have been deprived of your civil and political rights;
• not have been declared bankrupt without having obtained rehabilitation;
• at the time of your application for access, not have incurred, in Belgium or in another European Union Member State, any of the penalties mentioned in Article 5 § 1 of the law;
• hold one of the following professional qualifications:
  • a qualification granting access to the profession of estate agent, as mentioned in Article 2 of the Royal Decree of 30 August 2013 on access to the profession of estate agent;
  • six years of relevant professional experience during the ten years preceding your application for registration, and having passed the practical aptitude test provided for in the traineeship regulations.
• submit your application for registration on the list of trainees to the President of the Executive Chamber of the Professional Institute of Estate Agents (IPI);
• take a skills test organised or approved by the IPI;
• satisfactorily complete a professional practice traineeship as a self-employed person over a period of at least 12 months and no more than 36 months;
• take the additional training organised or approved by the IPI;
• pass a practical aptitude test organised or approved by the IPI.

Are you a national of another European Union Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland? If so, you can also provide a certificate of competence or a training qualification obtained in that country. In this case, you are exempt from the traineeship.

However, the IPI may require you to complete a three-year adaptation period or take an aptitude test, depending on your choice, if it finds significant differences between your training and the training required to enter the profession in Belgium.

Are you a European national with a certificate of competence or training qualification? You can also apply for a European professional card in your Member State of origin and submit it to the IPI. In this event, your Member State will take care of all the formalities necessary to obtain recognition of your professional qualifications with the IPI.

What are the conditions for practising the profession?

As a self-employed estate agent, you must:

• be registered in the table of full members or on the list of trainees of the IPI;
  If you are not registered in this table or list of the IPI:
  • you cannot use the title of estate agent;
  • you cannot practise as a self-employed estate agent, whether as your main or secondary occupation.
• comply with the ethical rules designed to ensure that the profession of real estate agent is practised with dignity and integrity;
• be insured against professional liability;
• follow ongoing professional training.

Ongoing training

As an estate agent, you must comply with a training obligation. This ensures that you regularly update your skills and can continue to offer your clients the best possible professional service..

Any full member registered in a single column (intermediary or property manager) must complete ten hours of ongoing professional training each year. Those registered in both columns of the table must complete 20 hours of ongoing professional training each year.

Insurance requirement

If you practise as a self-employed estate agent, the law requires you to take out insurance to:

• cover your civil liability;
• guarantee the funds entrusted to you by your clients and for which you are not the final recipient.

The IPI has taken out group insurance that covers all IPI members, i.e. all estate agents registered in the table of full members or on the list of trainees.

If the required conditions are met, the IPI’s group insurance could therefore cover you in the event that you cause damage to a client.

You wish to carry out the activity as a legal entity

If you want to practise the profession of estate agent as a legal entity, you must meet the conditions for access to and practice of the profession.

The legal entity must meet the following conditions:

1. More than 50% of all members of the management body acting on behalf of the company are :
   • natural persons authorised to practise as estate agents; and/or
   • legal entities authorised to carry out the profession of estate agent and whose permanent representative, within the meaning of Article 2:55 of the Belgian Code of Companies and Associations (CSA), is itself authorised to carry out the profession of real estate agent.
2. In accordance with the CSA, the purpose of the legal entity includes:
   • the professional activities relating to the practice of the profession of real estate agent
   • where applicable, other activities that may be carried out and that are not incompatible with the practice of the profession of real estate agent.
3. The legal entity does not hold any participation in other companies or legal entities whose purpose and/or activities are incompatible with the profession of estate agent;
4. The legal entity is registered in a column of the IPI table.

The legal entity is subject to the same code of ethics as a natural person.

If the legal person is not registered in the table, the members of the management body and active partners assume full civil liability for acts carried out in the course of their professional activities within the legal entity. This legal entity must meet the following conditions:

1. At least one member of the management body or an active partner is registered with the Institute, in the corresponding column of the table of full members or the list of trainees;
2. If the manager of the legal entity is another legal entity, the permanent representative of the managing legal entity is registered with the IPI, in the corresponding column of the table of full members or the list of trainees.

Registration procedure with the IPI

Registration as a trainee

If you hold the required qualification to become an estate agent, you can send your application for registration on the list of trainees to the President of the Executive Chamber.

Once you have submitted your complete registration dossier to the Executive Chamber and received official confirmation that your dossier is in order, you can take the skills test organised by the IPI.

The skills test is a written test that you must take before starting your traineeship in order to assess your professional knowledge and skills. This test is compulsory for anyone without a traineeship exemption, regardless of their qualifications or experience. This test will allow the IPI to identify any gaps in your knowledge as well as areas for improvement and to determine in which areas you need to further develop your skills.

Once you have taken your skills test, you will be registered on the list of trainees and will receive your IPI number. You must, then, complete a traineeship at the agency of a trainee supervisor, who must be an approved IPI member that meets certain conditions.

Only after you have officially received your IPI number can you start your traineeship and begin to carry out the estate agent activities of your choice - only in accordance with the column in which you are registered (broker and/or property manager).

The final step in this process is the practical aptitude test. This test determines whether, at the end of your traineeship, you are able to put your theoretical knowledge into practice and whether you are capable of practising as an estate agent in accordance with the current laws and ethical rules.

Registration as a natural person

If you wish to register as a natural person in the table of estate agents, you must meet the following conditions:

1. You must have successfully completed the professional practice traineeship as a self-employed person.
2. You must have completed the additional training organised or approved by the IPI.
3. You must have passed the practical aptitude test organised or approved by the IPI.

If you are exempt from the traineeship, you can send your registration application directly to the President of the Executive Chamber with the documents proving that you meet the entry requirements.

If you wish to practise as a legal entity, you can send an application for registration as a legal entity to the President of the Executive Chamber, provided that the persons acting on behalf of the legal entity are already registered as natural persons.

Registration fees

You must pay an annual fee, if you are registered in the table of full members or on the list of trainees. The Institute determines the amount of this fee each year, which is then approved by the minister in charge. This fee also covers the amount of the civil liability insurance premium and the security.

Recourse in the event of refusal of registration

If the Executive Chamber refuses to register you, you can file an appeal with the Secretary of the Chamber of Appeal by registered post.

The appeal has a suspensory effect. You must submit your appeal within thirty days of notification of the Executive Chamber’s decision (date as per postmark).

Sanctions for non-compliance with the obligations of estate agents

Ethical standards

When you are registered in the table of full members or on the list of trainees of the IPI:

• you are placed under its supervision
• you must comply with the ethical standards established by the IPI

These standards ensure that you practise your activities with integrity and professionalism. If it is proven that you have failed in your ethical duties, you are liable to one of the following disciplinary penalties:

• warning
• official reprimand
• suspension for a maximum period of two years
• striking off

At the criminal level

The illegal practice of the profession is a criminal offence and is punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment.