I am a tenant: do I have to take out fire insurance?
In short
Yes, in all three regions. As a tenant, you must insure your own liability for fire and water damage. In Brussels, this rule applies to leases signed or renewed from 1 November 2024.
Video transcript
You are moving into your new rented home. You left the insurance for later. Required: In all three regions, the tenant must insure their liability for fire and water damage (Brussels: leases after 1 Nov 2024). The right way: Take out the insurance before you move in. Show the landlord that you paid the premium. If you're not insured: Fine: None; But: Breach of the lease; If the fire starts at yours: You pay the damage.
What is not allowed, what is required?
- If a fire breaks out in the home, the tenant is presumed liable, unless they prove that the fire started through no fault of their own.
- Flanders: the tenant must insure their liability for fire and water damage (Flemish Housing Lease Decree [Woninghuurdecreet], art. 29). The landlord must also take out their own insurance.
- Wallonia: the tenant must take out the insurance before moving in and prove to the landlord every year that the premium has been paid (Walloon Lease Decree, art. 17).
- Brussels: for leases signed or renewed from 1 November 2024, the tenant must take out fire and water damage insurance and prove every year that the premium has been paid.
- This insurance (brandverzekering / assurance incendie) only covers the home itself. For your own belongings, you can also take out contents cover (inboedel / contenu).
Penalty and indirect consequences
- Fine / payment
- No fine. Not having insurance is a breach of the lease, and the landlord can go to the justice of the peace (vrederechter / juge de paix).
Legal basis:Bruxelles Logement – Brochure bail (ancien C. civ. art. 1762bis)
What really matters: the indirect consequences
- If the fire is your fault, you may have to pay for all the damage out of your own pocket
Legal basis:Woninghuurdecreet 9.11.2018, art. 29 §1
- In Wallonia and Brussels, if you do not give proof, the landlord can have an extra clause added to their own insurance and pass the cost on to you
Legal basis:Décret bail wallon 15.3.2018, art. 17
- The justice of the peace can order you to take out insurance or end the lease
Legal basis:Bruxelles Logement – Brochure bail (ancien C. civ. art. 1762bis)
What do these terms mean?
- Justice of the peace
- The local court in every canton for everyday disputes such as neighbour conflicts, rent and small debts. It first tries to reconcile the parties.
Why does this rule exist?
A kitchen fire or a burst pipe can cause thousands of euros of damage. Insurance protects the tenant from large debts and the landlord from loss.
Where can you go?
- Municipal planning departmentAsk before you start the works (dienst omgeving / service urbanisme)
- Tax office – land register (cadastre)Report renovation works through MyMinfin
- Social interpreterAt the municipality, the OCMW/CPAS, school and hospital, you can ask for an interpreter in your language; it is often free.
This site does not handle individual cases; it points you to the right service. All help addresses
Source and reliability
Official source- Source check
- 10 / 10 statements in an official source
- Checked: 14.10.2026
- Last checked
- 14.10.2026
- Rules can change
Show the 10 checked statementsopen
- Found in an official source
Kiracı yangından sorumlu sayılır, suçu olmadığını kanıtlarsa sorumlu değil
Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, art. 29 §1 - Found in an official source
Vlaanderen: kiracı yangın/su hasarı sorumluluğunu sigortalatmak zorunda
Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, art. 29 §1 - Found in an official source
Vlaanderen: ev sahibi de sigortalatmak zorunda
Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, art. 29 §2 - Found in an official source
Wallonie: girişten önce sigorta, her yıl prim kanıtı (md. 17)
Décret wallon du 15 mars 2018 relatif au bail d'habitation, art. 17 (Wallex, version 01/07/2024) - Found in an official source
Bruxelles: 1 Kasım 2024'ten itibaren yapılan/yenilenen sözleşmelerde zorunlu, her yıl kanıt
Brüksel Bölgesi (be.brussels) – Brochure juridique bail, janvier 2025 - Found in an official source
Ev eşyası için ayrı içerik sigortası alınabilir
be.brussels – Brochure juridique bail - Found in an official source
Kanıt yoksa ev sahibi kendi sigortasına rücudan feragat maddesi ekletip maliyeti kiracıya yansıtabilir (WAL, BXL)
Décret bail wallon 15.3.2018, art. 17 - Found in an official source
Ev sahibi sulh hâkimine gidebilir; hâkim sigortayı emredebilir veya sözleşmeyi bitirebilir
Bruxelles Logement – Brochure bail (ancien C. civ. art. 1762bis) - Found in an official source
Kira anlaşmazlıkları sulh hâkiminin yetkisindedir (ceza yok)
Ger.W. art. 591, 1° - Found in an official source
Kiracı, kusursuz olduğunu kanıtlamadıkça yangın zararından sorumludur
Woninghuurdecreet 9.11.2018, art. 29 §1
The checked statements are in Turkish, as in the source text. This check does not replace legal advice.
General information, not legal advice. For your own situation, ask a lawyer or free legal aid. How was this information prepared?