Europe
Student accommodation regulation in Belgium (2026)
Belgium has no national student tenancy act: it has three. Residential tenancy is a regional matter, and Flanders regulates the student contract in the Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, Wallonia in its decree of 15 March 2018 and Brussels in the Code bruxellois du Logement. Each sets the length, the deposit and the resident's exit in its own way. Data, by contrast, is federal: the GDPR, the Act of 30 July 2018 and the Data Protection Authority.
The short answer
First, the region: the contract and housing quality change between Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels; data, AI and the whistleblowing channel do not.
| What | Rule | Who applies it |
|---|---|---|
| Legal figure | Student tenancy contract, defined by each region | The justice of the peace (Art. 591(1) Code judiciaire) |
| Contract | Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, each with its own text | The justice of the peace |
| Building | Conformity in Flanders, rental permit in Wallonia, basic requirements in Brussels | The region and the municipality, depending on the case |
| Data | GDPR and the Act of 30 July 2018 | The Data Protection Authority |
| AI | Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Art. 50 | The authority each State designates (Art. 70) |
| Whistleblowing channel | Act of 28 November 2022, Art. 11, with 50 or more workers | The private entity, through its internal channels |
Official sources (Justel) consulted on 19 Oct 2026.
What they are called: kot, studentenkamer and residence
In Belgium people say kot. The law regulates the contract, not the building, and each region defines who it applies to: in Flanders, someone enrolled at a full-time educational institution who does not make the home their main residence (Art. 53); in Wallonia, someone "régulièrement inscrite" (properly enrolled) in secondary or higher education (Art. 2(6)); in Brussels, the tenancy signed by or for a student in order to pursue their studies (Art. 2(31)).
The Walloon decree, for its indicative rent grid, lists the forms that exist: kots in subdivided single-family houses, residences run by a higher education institution, residences run by a private operator —the PBSA of other countries—, public student housing and rooms in a private home (Art. 89/1).
The contract: three regimes, one per region
Flanders: Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, Title III
In force since 1 January 2019 (Arts. 53 to 65) and mandatory (Art. 54). The rent includes everything except energy, water, telecommunications and the second-home tax (Art. 60); the deposit, two months at most (Art. 62); the student can leave before moving in, on giving up their studies or if whoever supports them dies (Art. 64); and the contract ends at its term, with no tacit renewal (Art. 63).
Wallonia: décret du 15 mars 2018, Chapter V
In force since 1 September 2018 (Arts. 76 to 84). The bail étudiant lasts one year unless a shorter term is agreed and ends automatically; if the student stays on without objection, it is extended for a year (Art. 80). They can leave with two months' notice and three months' compensation, not after 15 March, and without compensation in the listed cases (Art. 81). The deposit has been capped at two months since 1 June 2023 (Art. 82/1).
Brussels: Code bruxellois du Logement, Title XI, Chapter IV
In force since 1 January 2018 (Arts. 253 to 256). Here the regime is optional:
Le présent chapitre s'applique au bail de logement étudiant, pour autant que les parties consentent à l'application du régime juridique qu'il institue […] ("This chapter applies to the student housing tenancy, provided that the parties consent to the application of the legal regime it establishes […]")
The contract is presumed to last twelve months, and a longer one falls outside the chapter (Art. 256(1)). The landlord can end it at expiry with three months' notice; the student, at any time, with two, except in contracts of three months or less (Art. 256(2)).
The building: regional quality rules
- Flanders. A conformiteitsattest (certificate of conformity) from the previous three months presumes the home meets the quality requirements; a contract for one that does not is void, and a judge declares it (Art. 12, applied by Art. 57).
- Wallonia. Collective housing and small individual homes mainly meant for students need a permis de location (rental permit), with health criteria and fire detectors (Arts. 9 and 10 of the Code wallon de l'habitation durable).
- Brussels. Every home meets basic safety, health and equipment requirements (Art. 4 of the Code bruxellois du Logement); a certificate of conformity can be requested before letting (Art. 12/2).
Data: GDPR, the 2018 Act and the DPA
Data protection rules are the same in all three regions: the GDPR, the Act of 30 July 2018 and the Data Protection Authority, created by the Act of 3 December 2017 to monitor the GDPR (Arts. 3 and 4). One Belgian rule: for online services offered to children, their own consent is valid from the age of 13 (Art. 7 of the 2018 Act).
Answering on WhatsApp asks for the usual: information (GDPR Art. 13), a processor contract with every supplier (Art. 28) and, if an AI model in the US processes the messages, Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46(2)(c)). Since 2 August 2026, moreover, residents have to know an AI is answering, unless it is obvious (Art. 50(1) of the AI Act; more in the guide).
What the rule does not say
Worth knowing
None of the three regulates the residence as a building, and they do not agree on what they take for granted: in Brussels, the student regime only applies if the parties accept it (Art. 253); in Flanders, only if the student does not make the home their main residence (Art. 53); in Wallonia, if they do so with the landlord's express agreement, the main-residence rules are added (Art. 77).
Where Bedel fits
Bedel replies to a residence's WhatsApp in the language it is written to in —French, Dutch, English or any other— and passes to the phone of a person on the team what a machine should not decide. Its data is in the European Union, in Ireland; the AI model runs in the US under the Standard Contractual Clauses. What changes by region and under Belgian data law is discussed before signing.
Frequently asked questions
Which law applies to renting a kot in Belgium?
That of the region where the building is. In Flanders, Title III of the Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, since 1 January 2019. In Wallonia, Chapter V of the decree of 15 March 2018 on the bail d'habitation. In Brussels, Chapter IV of Title XI of the Code bruxellois du Logement, which only applies if the parties accept that regime. Disputes are settled by the justice of the peace.
Can a student leave the kot before the contract ends?
It depends on the region. In Flanders, on giving up their studies or if whoever supports them dies, with two months' notice, and also before moving in. In Wallonia, at any time with two months' notice and three months' compensation, but not after 15 March, and without compensation in some listed cases. In Brussels, at any time with two months' notice, except in contracts of three months or less.
How much deposit can be asked of a student in Belgium?
In Flanders and Wallonia, two months' rent at most: Article 62 of the Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet says so and, since 1 June 2023, Article 82/1 of the Walloon decree. In Brussels, the student chapter sets no cap of its own and the general rules of Title XI of the Code bruxellois du Logement apply, as its Article 255 indicates.
Which authority supervises a residence's data in Belgium?
The Data Protection Authority, Autorité de protection des données in French and Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit in Dutch, created by the Act of 3 December 2017 to monitor the application of the GDPR. It is the same for all three regions. The Act of 30 July 2018 supplements the GDPR with Belgian rules, such as the age of thirteen for consent to online services.
Does a residence need a whistleblowing channel in Belgium?
It depends on the headcount of the entity that runs it. Article 11 of the Act of 28 November 2022 requires private-sector legal entities to have internal reporting channels and procedures, but exempts those with fewer than fifty workers. The threshold is calculated from the average number of workers in the previous calendar year, not per building.
Other countries
- United KingdomFour systems in one country: in England, membership of an approved management code weighs on whether a student building is an HMO and on which contract is signed; data follows UK GDPR.
- IrelandA figure of its own: student specific accommodation, within tenancy law and under the RTB since 2019, whether signed as a lease or as a licence.
- PortugalRules of its own for the building since January 2022 (Decree-Law 14/2022 and Ordinance 35-A/2022); the contract is a Civil Code tenancy and data goes through the GDPR and Law 58/2019.
- FranceThe résidence universitaire has a legal definition (Art. L631-12 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation); the rest of student accommodation is let under the 1989 Act, as a furnished let or a bail mobilité.
- ItalyThe "struttura residenziale universitaria" has a legal definition (Legislative Decree 68/2012, Art. 13), split into collegi and residenze; letting a flat to students comes under Art. 5 of Law 431/1998.
- GermanyNo residence act: section 549(3) of the BGB cuts back tenant protection in a Studenten- oder Jugendwohnheim, and building rules and the data authority depend on each Land.
- NetherlandsNo residence act: Book 7 of the Civil Code gives student lettings the campus contract and the fixed-term contract, and the Bbl sets its own measurements for student housing.
- SpainThe starting point in Spain: which rule governs the legal figure, the contract, the building, the data and the AI of a student residence, with the guide for each.