The end of a lease often brings compounding problems: a tenant who will not hand back the keys, a property left in poor condition, the last two months of rent unpaid, and disputes over the utility charges settlement. Each situation has its own legal procedure. Here is a practical guide to the rules and the traps to avoid.
What the law requires on the final day
The tenant is legally required to vacate the property on the last day of the lease. In practice, three problems recur most frequently:
- The tenant does not leave when the lease expires.
- The tenant leaves but hands back a property in worse condition than when they moved in.
- The last two months of rent go unpaid, with the tenant intending to offset the debt against the rental deposit.
In each case, the landlord or their property manager must follow a strict legal framework. Cutting corners exposes them to liability and can undermine the entire procedure.
The justice of the peace monopoly on evictions
This is the rule that many landlords still overlook: a landlord cannot instruct a bailiff to evict a tenant directly, even if the lease has validly ended, even if the notice is undisputable. The landlord cannot act alone.
Article 1762bis of the old Civil Code lays down the rule: the express termination clause is deemed unwritten in residential lease law. In other words, regardless of what a contract may say, a landlord cannot rely on a clause giving them the right to terminate the lease and retake possession without a court order.
A judgment from the territorially competent justice of the peace (the one covering the property's location) is therefore always required. This judgment establishes that the lease has ended, orders vacation of the premises and, if necessary, grants the authority to proceed with eviction.
Only once that judgment is in hand can the bailiff intervene to remove a tenant who still has not left within the deadline set by the court.
The preventive application to validate notice
A lesser-known option: the landlord can apply to the justice of the peace before the lease has even expired, to have the notice validated and obtain the eviction authority in advance should the tenant fail to vacate.
This preventive application is accepted when the landlord can show a concrete interest: the tenant is contesting the validity of the notice, there is an ongoing dispute, or a new tenant is due to move in the day after the lease ends. The landlord can invoke their legal obligation to deliver vacant possession (art. 1719,1° of the old Civil Code): they must be able to make the property available to the incoming tenant.
This preventive route eliminates the procedural gap between the end of the lease and an eviction judgment, which can otherwise take several weeks.
Speeding up the procedure: shortening the summons period
The standard procedure before the justice of the peace involves a summons period of eight days (art. 707 of the Judicial Code). In urgent cases, article 708 of the Judicial Code allows the court to shorten this period on a reasoned application signed by a lawyer or a bailiff.
In practice, the accelerated route can look like this:
- Application to shorten the summons period filed with the justice of the peace.
- Summons served by a bailiff 48 hours before the hearing.
- Judgment ordering the tenant to vacate, granting the authority to proceed with eviction and awarding costs.
This route is not automatic: the urgency must be demonstrated to the court. It is particularly suited when a new tenant's move-in date is imminent or when the property is at risk of further deterioration.
The Brussels winter moratorium
In Brussels, article 233duodecies of the Brussels Housing Code suspends the execution of any judicial eviction order from 1 November to 15 March. During this period, even if the judgment has been handed down and a bailiff has been instructed, the actual eviction cannot take place.
The Constitutional Court upheld this mechanism in its judgment no. 131/2025 of 9 October 2025: the winter suspension does not impose a disproportionate burden on landlords' rights, given the need to protect the right to housing during the cold season.
What this means for property management in Brussels: any eviction procedure must be planned well in advance. If a tenant needs to vacate before winter, obtaining the judgment and enforcing it before 1 November is critical. A procedure launched in October risks being suspended the moment the winter period begins, extending the unlawful occupation by several months.
The situation in Wallonia is different: there is no winter moratorium for private rentals. The Walloon moratorium applies only to social housing (1 November to 15 March). For private leases in Wallonia, eviction procedures can therefore be commenced and enforced at any time of year.
Rental damage: building a solid case
The entry inventory - the foundation of any claim
The entry inventory of fixtures is the cornerstone of any end-of-lease dispute file. It must be:
- Detailed: room by room, item by item.
- Contradictory: signed by both parties in each other's presence (or their representatives).
- At shared cost (if any fees are involved).
- Attached to the lease and registered with it.
Without an entry inventory, proving abnormal damage is almost impossible.
The legal requirement is clear: art. 220 §3 of the Brussels Housing Code in Brussels, art. 27 §5 of the Walloon decree of 15 March 2018 in Wallonia.
The exit inventory
In the event of a dispute at departure, the justice of the peace may appoint an expert (art. 594,1° of the Judicial Code) to assess the condition of the property, before or after key handover.
Even without a contradictory exit inventory, compensation remains possible provided:
- The entry inventory shows the property was in good condition at the start of the lease.
- Dated photographs, invoices and quotes document the damage found on departure.
- The damage goes beyond normal wear and tear (a depreciation coefficient may be applied, for example 20% to account for the age of the property).
What the landlord can claim - and what they cannot
The landlord can only claim for damage attributable to the tenant, beyond normal wear and tear and depreciation. Works required solely because of age-related deterioration remain the landlord's responsibility. Each item claimed must be supported by a quote or invoice. Vague, unsubstantiated claims are regularly reduced or dismissed by the courts.
Termination at the tenant's fault
If the tenant remains in the property after the lease has properly ended, the landlord can ask the justice of the peace not only for eviction but also for termination of the lease at the tenant's fault, with a corresponding indemnity.
This mechanism, grounded in article 1184 of the old Civil Code (now art. 5.90 of the new Civil Code), remains applicable even when the lease is technically already terminated: the ongoing unlawful occupation constitutes a contractual breach that justifies a damages award.
SEIDO for end-of-lease management
Building a solid evidence file for end-of-lease disputes depends largely on the quality of documentation produced throughout the tenancy. A timestamped digital inventory of fixtures, with dated photographs attached to the property record in a management tool, is far more robust than a paper document signed in haste.
With SEIDO, inventories are timestamped and linked to the property file. Automated reminders help teams anticipate critical deadlines: notice periods, exit inventory scheduling, and the cutoff date before the Brussels winter moratorium. When remedial works are needed after a tenant leaves, SEIDO's contractor portal tracks every intervention, with validated quotes and associated invoices, producing the documentary record that the court expects in the event of a dispute.
Four priority actions
When a lease ends in contentious circumstances, four actions must be carried out systematically:
- Conduct the exit inventory contradictorily before the keys are handed over. If the tenant refuses, apply immediately to the justice of the peace.
- Do not act unilaterally: no forced entry, no bailiff without a prior court order.
- Plan the timeline carefully: in Brussels, any enforcement of an eviction order is suspended from 1 November to 15 March.
- Document every item of damage precisely: dated photographs, quotes, invoices, communication history.
The court procedure before the justice of the peace can be accelerated when urgency is demonstrated. It typically leads to a judgment ordering vacation, granting the authority to evict and, where the facts justify it, awarding a termination indemnity at the tenant's fault.
Sources and references
- Civil Code (old), art. 1762bis (express termination clause deemed unwritten), art. 1719,1° (obligation to deliver vacant possession), art. 1184 (termination for non-performance); Civil Code (new), art. 5.90
- Judicial Code, art. 594,1° (judicial expertise), art. 707 (standard summons period), art. 708 (shortening the summons period)
- Brussels Housing Code, art. 220 §3 (inventory of fixtures), art. 233duodecies (winter moratorium)
- Walloon decree of 15 March 2018 on residential leases, art. 27 §5 (inventory of fixtures)
- Constitutional Court, judgment no. 131/2025 of 9 October 2025 (validation of the Brussels winter moratorium)