From 1 January 2010, the transferor of a right in rem has to obtain, prior to the transfer, a soil certificate from the Brussels Environmental Agency (BIM/IBGE). A decree recently published in the Belgian Official Journal (1) clarifies the procedure for obtaining a soil certificate and determines its validity period.
The soil certificate can be requested either by means of a registered letter or electronically. A charge of 30 EUR per certificate and per plot will be applied. The Agency is obliged to deliver the soil certificate within 20 days following the request. The content of the soil certificate is to be notified to the transferee and this notification is to be included in the deed.
The validity period of the soil certificate depends on the soil category in which the plot is classified:
- Category 0: for plots where a soil survey has never been done, the soil certificate expires 6 months after the date of issue;
- Category 1 and 2: the soil certificate has unlimited validity;
- Category 3: the soil certificate expires a year after the date of issue;
- Category 4: the soil certificate expires 6 months after the date of issue.
The decree enters into force 31 October 2010.
