Is there a right of appeal against a relevant authority's decision in respect of an application for permission for development or the carrying on of a designated use?
Each of the following three regions allow a party to appeal against a decision.
In the Flemish Region, in the integrated permit procedure, permits can be delivered by the municipal council, the Deputation of the Province or the Flemish Government. The possibilities of appeal change as following:
An annulment of the Council for Permit Disputes fully erases the relevant decision from the record. A suspension of a permit causes it to have no legal effect for as long as it is suspended. The Council for Permit Disputes decides on the suspension procedure before it decides on the annulation procedure.
In the Brussels Capital Region, the Brussels Code regarding Public Planning of 9 April 2004 provides that a decision regarding a building permit is generally made by the municipal council (or in some exceptional cases by the regional authorized public planning officer). Under that provision, the applicant can file an appeal against the decision with the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region which is to be submitted within 30 days after the day on which the decision is received. The appeal is forwarded to the Public Planning College, which issues a memorandum of advice to the Government within 75 days. The Government then decides on the matter within 60 days of receiving this memorandum. A separate mechanism for appealing a permit decision made by the public planning officer in suspension or annulation is available for the municipal council against the decisions in appeal with the Council of State. However, these appeal procedures only apply to permits applied for after 1 September 2019.
In the Walloon Region, the Code for Territorial Development also provides that the decision regarding a permit is usually made by the municipal council (or in some exceptional cases by the regional authorized public planning officer). The applicant, or the municipal council in the case of a decision of the regional authorized public planning officer, can file an appeal against the decision with the Government of the Walloon Region. The applicant can then appeal the Government’s decision in suspension/ annulation with the Council of State.
