As at the beginning of each month, new measures come into application this May 1st: here is everything that changes, point by point.
1. Brussels rents more strictly supervised
The rents of real estate in the Brussels region are now more strictly supervised, following the adoption by the Brussels Parliament of an order aimed at fighting against abusive rents. The donors will not be able, with some exceptions, exceed by 20% the amounts of the indicative grid fixed by the region.
All lease contracts, in the Brussels region, must indicate since December 1, 2022 the reference rent of the property concerned or an interval of amounts around the reference rent of the property concerned, according to a grid established by the Brussels region and revised annually. The rents of Brussels goods are considered abusive if they exceed the amounts of the regional grid by 20%. However, it may be exceptionally established that this difference can be justified by intrinsic elements of specific housing or its environment. Conversely, a rent can be deemed abusive, even if it does not exceed 20% of the reference price, if defects of specific qualities for housing or its environment are detected.
Concretely, the tenant may request a revision of the rent from a certain period: after the 3rd month of the lease contract in the event of a short lease, or from the 4th month for longer leases. In this context, the parties may request a non -binding opinion with the joint rental commission (CPL) or seize the justice of the peace. Directly or in the absence of agreement between the parties following the conciliation organized by the CPL, the justice of the peace may also be seized of the request to revise the abusive rent. The latter can also request the opinion of the CPL before deciding.
2. What changes this May 1st: new formula and new price for the Lotto
What has changed since May 1 at the National Lottery is the Lotto. A new formula of this emblematic drawing game is supposed to offer more winners with each draw and introduce an exceptional real estate gain. A price increase in the Lotto grid is also announced, the first change made since 2018, specifies the company. It will increase to 1.50 euros.
The new formula will allow “to offer more gains to players, with 50,000 additional winners Each draw and a ‘dream house’ at 750,000 euros every last Saturday of the month, “said Jérémie Demeyer, spokesperson. “We will offer every last Saturday of the month, in addition to the jackpot, to offer one of the players Lotto a real estate project of 750,000 euros. This price is awarded not via the combination of the draw, but well via the Lucky Lotto Code, code allocated randomly to each Lotto gate played ”. Concretely, an amount of 750,000 euros will be paid to a notary chosen by the winner and to which the said winner will have to submit a project (purchase, renovation, mortgage, etc.). Once the project is considered to comply, the amount can be used flexibly over a period of three years from the draw. After three years, the possible balance will be paid to the winner.
3. Penalties for unconceived photovoltaic installations
Undeclared installations of Photovoltaic panels, charging storage terminals or storage battery Can be the subject of penalties from Sibelga from May 1. The Brussels residents have the legal obligation to declare this type of installation within a maximum of 30 days.
Uncorporated installations will therefore risk being the subject of possible penalties, for example a non-declaration rate, warns Sibelga. “If a prosumer uses a conventional counter without regularizing despite the reminders, Sibelga could, in addition to these ‘penalties’, adjust its consumption by considering that no electricity has been neither self -consumed nor injected on the network,” said the Brussels manager of electricity and natural gas distribution networks. This regulation aims to avoid congestion of the network, the waves of inverters and the damage to the infrastructure. The increase in photovoltaic panels in Brussels is indeed a real challenge for network managementspecifies Sibelga. The latter guarantees the supply of gas and electricity of more than 500,000 households in the Brussels-Capital Region.
4. Which changes from May 1: sometimes no need for a town planning permit in Wallonia
What has changed since this May 1st in Wallonia? A series of acts no longer require obtaining an urban planning permit.
This will be the case in particular of the installation of shuttersof flocks or from railing Not visible from the public domain; of the opening, the modification, the shutter of berries in flat roof; of the construction of a bike shelters designed with light metal or wooden barriers; placement ofcovered infrastructure parking for active mobility machines (bikes, in particular) of 60m² maximum in public domain as private or even the installation of Horeca terraces (area range of 50 to 100 m²). Also concerned are the repair or the development of the banks and the minor bed of rivers after a natural calamity (within 5 years); The installation of electricity or heat production modules from solar energy for both buildings and existing artificial structures (solar panels on roofs or on the ground in certain areas); the installation of heat pumps In the economic activity zone as well as the establishment of a point of sale for a maximum duration of six non -renewable months in order to occupy empty cells, attract new types of chalands or test new concepts. As for the flood zones regulationsnew arrangements based on high probability flood scenarios will be implemented. These specific measures will improve safety while avoiding unnecessarily complexify the procedures for the non -concerned areas, the government explains. In this context, the construction of fences in high flood zones of high hazard (which can be the cause of hugs during floods) will now be subject to a license
5. A repairability index comes into force in Belgium
The repairability index will come into force on May 2 in Belgium, the second European country to adopt it after France. By attributing A score of 1 to 10 In dishwashers, vacuum cleaners and other lawn mowers, the index allows consumers to know if the product they covet is easy to repair. The objective is thus to tend towards devices whose lifespan is more extensive.
“These devices have a considerable environmental impact due to the intensive use of raw materials and CO2 emissions during their manufacture,” points out the Federal Public Public Public Service, Food Safety and Environment Safety. The extraction of these raw materials indeed generates large quantities of waste, “especially in regions where recycling is not yet sufficiently developed”. In addition, the exploitation of certain minerals such as cobalt (essential for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries of our laptops) is sometimes linked to serious human rights violations (child labor and violence against workers).
In order to create a more virtuous economyBelgium has therefore introduced the repairability index. Several criteria have been retained to give a good or bad note to the targeted devices: the availability of technical information and interview manuals, the ease of disassembly and the tools necessary to achieve this, the availability of spare parts and their delivery time, the ratio between the price of spare parts and that of the new product. Other criteria specifically linked to the product are also taken into account. The index will also be mandatory from May 2 for high pressure cleaners and laptops, with the exception of tablets. This measure is part of the Federal Action Plan for the Circular Economy. In the future, the repairability index will also apply to bikes, in particular electricity, as well as to electric scooters.
