Selling a house with a tenant in Wallonia: preparing the sale

# Selling a house with a tenant in Wallonia: preparing the sale You can sell a house occupied by a tenant. However, the sale does not automatically make the house available to live in. Before promising a date for handing over the keys, have the lease and the conditions for any departure examined. This guide concerns a main residence in French-speaking Wallonia; another use or a property in the German-speaking Community requires a separate check. ## What happens to the lease when the house is sold? [Article 63 of the Walloon decree on residential leases](https://wallex.wallonie.be/eli/loi-decret/2018/03/15/2018201408-1#092661ab-6415-4985-bd3d-602293074212) provides for the buyer to take over the landlord's rights and obligations where the lease has an established date enforceable against third parties before the transfer. Subject to its stated conditions, it also protects a tenant whose lease does not have that established date but who has occupied the property for long enough. These situations do not necessarily give the buyer the same termination options. This established date, known as 'date certaine', allows the date of the lease to be relied on against third parties; it is not simply the date of signature. Have the evidence and registration checked. The type of lease, its duration and transitional provisions also matter: Articles 52, 55 and 91 of the same decree provide the framework for these checks. An intention to live in the property is not enough to guarantee a vacant house on the desired timetable. Our method distinguishes the documented tenancy position from the buyer's plans. A departure discussed orally still needs confirmation; a notice or written agreement must be examined before its end date is used in the advertisement or offer. ## Which documents should you prepare before viewings? Assemble a file that allows the notary to check the existing commitments: - The signed lease, its amendments, its start date and the use of the dwelling. - Proof of registration and evidence establishing its date enforceable against third parties. - The inventory of condition, the rental deposit and any specific agreements. - The rent charged, the charges and evidence of payments. - Notices, correspondence about a departure and any agreements ending the lease. Also have any preferential purchase clause or particular right mentioned in the file checked. Without this check, promise neither that the tenant has priority to buy nor that no such priority exists. Prepare the technical documents in parallel. [SPW sets out the requirements for the EPB certificate](https://wallonie.be/fr/demarches/vendreacheterlouer-obtenir-un-certificat-peb): for a dwelling subject to this requirement, it must be available before the property is put up for sale and its indicators must appear in advertisements. Check the exceptions applicable to the house. The fact that it is occupied does not replace this preparation. ## How should you organise viewings and present the house? Our practical recommendation is to agree with the tenant on a contact person, viewing slots, advance notice and photography arrangements. Reread the lease and have each party's rights clarified if there is disagreement; putting the house up for sale does not authorise you to enter whenever you choose. Avoid publishing documents, portraits and personal belongings that identify the occupant, and check the necessary permissions before publication. Explain the occupancy to prospective buyers before they travel. An investor wishing to continue letting the property and a family wishing to move in do not have the same timetable. Present evidenced rent separately from projected income and include charges and work in the analysis. No automatic percentage discount replaces an examination of the house and the market. If you are considering work before the sale, our guide to [renovating or selling as it stands](https://youhome.immo/en/journal/renovate-or-sell-as-is/) helps frame the commercial decision. It does not replace checking obligations towards the tenant. Obtain separate cost estimates for the proposed work and the necessary legal consultation: the cost depends on the file, and no universal amount is suggested here. ## What are the answers to frequently asked questions? ### Must you wait for the tenant to leave before selling? Not necessarily. Selling with a tenant in place is possible, but the tenancy position and the commitments transferred must be clearly presented. Do not turn a hoped-for departure date into confirmed availability. ### Can the buyer live in the house as soon as the deed is signed? Not automatically. Have the applicable tenancy rules, the conditions for any notice and the existing documents checked with the notary or a legal adviser before setting a move-in date. ### How should you prepare the launch in the Province of Liège? Start with the lease, the house's characteristics and your timetable. You can [request your valuation report](https://youhome.immo/en/valuation/request/) to position the property in its market and prepare its presentation. Sale value and legal availability remain two separate questions.