Reference points checked on 14 October 2026.
You would like to give your house to your children but keep living in it. Or you are considering a transfer before choosing a home that is easier to maintain. In both cases, the first question concerns your freedom after the gift: will you still be able to live in the house, receive the rent from it or arrange a sale if your plans change?
A gift of property transfers rights during your lifetime. Before looking at its cost, you need to be clear about what you are giving and what you will still need. For a family house in Liège or in Wallonia, three subjects deserve to be prepared together: the rights transferred, the applicable budget and the practical future of the property.
Giving away your house means changing your rights over it
A gift of property requires a notarial deed. A written family agreement or handing over the keys is not enough. The notary examines your situation and organises the transfer legally. The gift is in principle irrevocable: it should therefore not be seen as simply reserving the house for later. These principles are explained by Fednot in its guide to gifts of property.
By giving full ownership, you transfer the entire right of ownership. If you wish to keep the use of the house, a different arrangement must be made. A family intention, even a shared one, deserves to be written into the deed: "you can always stay here" does not say who decides, for how long or under what conditions.
Before the appointment, describe what you really want to keep. Is it your main home for the coming years? A rental income? The possibility of moving without depending on a family decision? This list allows you to discuss a solution that fits your life, rather than choosing a tax mechanism first.
Keeping the use does not mean keeping full control
A gift with reservation of usufruct can allow the donor to go on living in the house, or to let it and receive the rent. The beneficiary then receives the bare ownership. The two people hold different rights over the same property. Fednot sets out this possibility and the conditions that may accompany a gift.
This arrangement answers a question of use. Reserving the usufruct does not automatically reduce the basis for the duties: for this gift, Fednot specifies that the duties are calculated on the value in full ownership. Nor does it spare you from preparing future decisions: what happens if you want to sell to buy a flat, if major work becomes necessary or if one of the beneficiaries wishes to withdraw? Ask the notary to set out the agreements required and the financial consequences of each scenario.
There are also clauses or conditions that can adapt a gift, for example a right of return if the beneficiary dies before you. Their usefulness and their limits depend on your situation. The aim of the appointment is to protect a specific need, with suitable wording. This article does not cover every rule on usufruct: the essential point remains knowing how much room for decision you keep.
In 2026, the 2028 rates do not yet apply
Gift duties on property are progressive. First ask your notary to confirm which region has tax jurisdiction over your case. For gifts under the Walloon regime, in the direct line, between spouses and between legal cohabitants, the current rates given by Fednot are as follows. The scale is read per beneficiary, on their taxable share. Each rate applies to its own band, not to the whole value given.
| Taxable band | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €150,000 | 3% |
| From €150,000.01 to €250,000 | 9% |
| From €250,000.01 to €450,000 | 18% |
| Above €450,000 | 27% |
Other beneficiaries fall under a different scale. In Wallonia, de facto cohabitation does not qualify for the legal cohabitants' rate. Consult Fednot's table and ask your notary to confirm the applicable category.
The Walloon decree of 5 December 2024 provides for a reduction in the scale for gifts of property for authentic deeds executed from 1 January 2028. For the direct line, spouses and legal cohabitants, the planned rates are 3%, 6%, 10% and 14% for the same bands. The date of application is set out in article 30 of the decree published on WALLEX. The Walloon Government press release of 12 October 2026 announces that the Government is maintaining this planned reduction.
This change is not enough on its own to decide to wait. Your home, your cash needs and the beneficiaries' plans also count. Ask for a dated comparison including the duties and the cost of the deed. Also have any earlier gifts checked: the table alone is not your personal budget.
A transfer must take account of the house as it is
A character home can offer generous volumes while requiring substantial upkeep. To prepare the transfer, gather what helps to understand the property today: condition of the roof, heating, energy performance, work carried out and projects still under consideration. Keep documented expenditure separate from first renovation ideas.
An illustrative example: you wish to give away a family house in the Condroz, stay there a few years, then move to a smaller home. The roof may need to be redone in the meantime. Before the gift, three answers will help you more than an isolated value: what budget to allow for the work, who will be able to decide to carry it out and how to prepare the future move? Technical questions are for the relevant professional; the organisation of rights and obligations is for the notary.
A reasoned property valuation can inform this thinking. It must explain the property, its condition and the market evidence used. It does not replace the notary's check of the value to be used for the deed and of its tax basis. If a sale remains possible, work on consistent assumptions: do not compare a house given in its current state with a hoped-for price after work that has not yet been costed.
Preparing an appointment that leads to a decision
You can arrive at the notary's with a single simple page: the people involved, the rights you wish to transfer, your current use of the house and two scenarios for what comes next. Add the title deeds and other deeds you hold, any earlier gifts and information on any loan. Ask the notary's office which further documents are useful for your file.
Then have these questions examined: how to protect your home, what to provide for if a sale becomes necessary, what effect the gift will have on the family balance and what its full cost will be on the intended date? A gift and an estate are not two versions of the same deed. The comparison must cover your whole situation, with the notary.
If you are hesitating between keeping, transferring or selling your house in the Province of Liège, YOUHOME can help you understand its value and refine your property project. You will then have a concrete basis for continuing the estate planning discussion with your notary.
