REALWorld Law

Planning / zoning

Other relevant statutory permits

Which other statutory permit regimes must be considered in relation to planning/zoning and development?

Belgium

Belgium

Certain kinds of installations require a permit for construction works, as well as a permit for the exploitation of an installation.

In the Flemish Region, since 1 January 2018, both permits are integrated in the new (integrated) environmental permit, which is now in principle granted for an indefinite period.

A difference between the environmental permit for environmental matters and the environmental permit for building is that this last one can be freely transferred if the real estate is transferred, since it is linked to the real estate itself. Environmental permits including environmental matters are granted to a specific company or person, and if activity stops or the activity rights for the relevant installations are transferred to another person or company, this must be notified to the competent authorities.

In the Flemish region, the environmental permit is regulated by a Decree of 25 April 2014 concerning the ‘integrated environmental permit’. In the Brussels Capital Region, the environmental permit is regulated by a Decree of 5 June 1997 concerning the environmental permit. In the Walloon Region, the environmental permit is regulated by a Decree of 11 March 1999.

For some ‘commercial developments’ (mostly retailers), the Decree of 15 July 2016 on the Integrated Trade Establishment Policy (Flemish Region) and the Decree of 5 February 2015 on Commercial Establishments (Walloon Region) provide for a regulatory framework regarding certain commercial activities requiring a ‘socio-economical permit’. This permit is required for developments with a gross surface of more than 400m². The Brussels-Capital Region combined the application procedures for commercial establishments and building permits through the Ordinance of 8 May 2014, in accordance with the guidelines outlined in the Brussels Regional Development Code (CoBAT). As a result, the previous socio-economic permit is no longer required as a separate permit in the Brussels-Capital Region.