In our Newsletter of November 7, 2023, we informed you of the new procedure for home eviction in the Brussels-Capital Region introduced by the Brussels ordinance of June 22, 2023.

This procedure has been in force since September 1, 2023, and has inserted a new article 233duodecies in the Brussels Housing Code.

As a reminder, this ordinance puts in place the “winter truce” for evictions, i.e. the ban on evictions between November 1 and March 15 inclusive.

However, in a judgment handed down on September 13, 2023, the Justice of the Peace of the Canton of Uccle rejected the winter truce on the grounds that the temporary ban on evicting a tenant who fails to meet his or her obligations constitutes an interference with the landlord’s right to property, failing to meet the criterion of a fair balance between the imperatives of the general interest and those of protecting the right to respect for property.

The Justice of the Peace applied the proportionality test between the tenant’s interests on the one hand, and the lessor’s interests on the other, to conclude that the measure constituted an excessive restriction on the latter’s rights.

It further considers that the winter truce also results in a restriction of the right of access to the courts, which includes in particular the right to enforce final court decisions.

On this basis, as well as on the basis of article 11 of the Belgian Constitution (anti-discrimination provision), he concludes that the winter truce is discriminatory.

In practice, the Justice of the Peace of the Canton of Uccle has added an additional exception to the winter truce, to those already provided for in article 233 duodecies of the Brussels Housing Code (to see the exceptions, consult our last Newsletter on this subject here).

It is still early to assess the concrete consequences of this ruling, as well as the application of the new provision by the other Brussels justices of the peace, but it is clear that the new provisions of the Brussels ordinance of June 22, 2023 do not seem to be unanimously approved…

For more information on this subject, please contact Carole DE RUYT.