Selling or donating inherited immovable property

If you inherit immovable property and want to sell or donate it, you will need a deed of inheritance. In some cases, this deed can be obtained from the FPS Finance.

  • A deed of inheritance is an official document that describes what immovable property (such as houses or land) and rights in rem (such as a right of superficies or long lease) a person has left after his or her death. 

    You may need such a deed if you want to:

    • dispose of any of that immovable property or rights in rem, e.g. sell or donate,
    • encumber one of those properties with a right in rem.

    In some cases, this deed can be obtained free of charge from the FPS Finance.

    Conditions

    We can issue a deed of inheritance if the following conditions are met:

    • At least one of the beneficiaries has accepted the estate (unconditionally or under the benefit of inventory) and therefore is officially an heir.
    • The property from the estate is distributed according to the legal provisions (so-called legal devolution): i.e. the deceased did not sign a will, disposition of property upon death, testamentary disposition, marriage contract or gift between spouses.
    • There are no incompetent heirs or beneficiaries (such as minors or persons going through bankruptcy or collective debt settlement). 
    • The death occurred after 1 April 2023.

    In all other cases, you have to ask a civil-law notary to draw up a deed of inheritance. Moreover, we can always refuse to issue a deed of inheritance if we cannot identify the heirs with certainty.

    Application

    All heirs (or a number of heirs) can make an application together, but one of them will need to submit it on behalf of the rest. In that case, we will draw up one deed in the name of all applicant heirs concerned.

    You can also apply on your own, without other heirs. Then you will obtain your own deed in your name.

    1. Call the FPS Finance contact centre at (+32) 02 572 57 57 with the direct code 18225 to request an application form.

      Have the national register number of the deceased ready. You can find this on the identity card or on a sticker from the health insurance fund.

      We will also ask you about the number of heirs who will accept the estate. You will then receive by post as many copies of the form ‘Bevestiging van verklaring van zuivere aanvaarding van de nalatenschap’ ('Confirmation of declaration of unconditional acceptance of an estate') as there are accepting heirs.

      As an applicant, you can also download the form in MyMinfin and mail it to the other accepting heirs.

      In any case, make sure each heir fully completes and signs that declaration.

      The form also contains a QR code linked to the deceased. Therefore, it is important not to forward the confirmation of declaration of unconditional acceptance of the estate to others who re not involved in the file. Also do not use forms you have received from others, in order to avoid confusion.

    2. Complete the documents fully and legibly.

      The applicant must themselves be one of the legal heirs. 

      List each legal heir and beneficiary in the application:

      • Has an heir made a declaration to a civil-law notary, accepting the estate under the benefit of inventory or a deed of repudiation? In that case, you should attach a copy of those declarations and deeds.
      • Heirs who have not made any of the above declarations to a civil-law notary? They can fill out the document Bevestiging van verklaring van zuivere aanvaarding van de nalatenschap’ ('Confirmation of declaration of unconditional acceptance of estate'), sign it and send it along. In this way, the heirs confirm that they accept the estate unconditionally and agree to the drawing up of the deed of inheritance.

    3. Send all necessary documents in one envelope to the address mentioned on the application form. Do not use staples or paper clips.

      The necessary documents are:

      • the signed application form
      • the signed ‘Bevestiging van verklaring van zuivere aanvaarding van de nalatenschap’ ('Confirmation of declaration of unconditional acceptance of the estate') of each heir accepting the estate
      • good-quality photographs of the front and back of the identity card (or passport) of each heir accepting the estate
      • the deed of repudiation (if applicable)
      • the acceptance under the benefit of inventory (if applicable)
      • a power of attorney (if applicable) 

      If your file is not complete, you will not obtain a deed of inheritance.

  • Free or paying

    Once we have received your application, we will examine whether your application is admissible and whether we are competent. For free deeds, the processing period of about a month starts after that. For paying deeds, the processing period starts even after we have received payment.

    We provide free registration, transfer and issuing of the deed of inheritance if we can draw it up within six months of the death. We also take care of registration in the Central Register of inheritance. The FPS Finance will bear the cost of this. 

    Therefore, you should take that one-month processing period into account: make sure we have received the complete file within five months of the death to get a deed free of charge. 

    Otherwise, you will have to pay at least several hundred euros in expenses:

    • 285 euros of mortgage fee (per department that has to transfer the deed: this means that if your deed includes a property in Brussels and one in Antwerp, you will pay 570 euros of mortgage fee because two different departments are responsible for these municipalities) 
    • 50 euros of registration duty (plus the cost of registering attachments, if any)

    We will then send you a payment request and will not draw up the deed until we receive that payment. What if you do not pay on time? In that case, we will close your file and you will have to submit a new application if you still want to obtain a deed of inheritance.

    Receipt

    Unlike with a civil-law notary, you do not have to come by to sign the deed. 

    After we have registered and transferred the deed, issuing can take another month. 

    This means that it may take up to two months for the deed to reach the applicant by post. All heirs will then be able to find the deed in the section ‘Mijn documenten’ (‘My documents’) of MyMinfin. 

    Help from a specialized service provider

    You can also request the assistance of an expert, such as a tax office, lawyer or civil-law notary. Please note: they can only submit the application if you give them an official (lasting) power of attorney. 

    FYI:

    • We will send all documents and info directly to you, being the applicant heir, not to the expert. This implies that only you will receive the application form and later the deed of inheritance.
    • We will give you a special application form with a unique QR code linked to the file of the deceased. Consequently, if you want the expert to fill it in, you should forward the form to them. They cannot use another form. 
    • Make sure your details (first name, surname, national register number) are filled in on the form and not those of the expert.
    • We only accept forms that are completely filled out and signed by you, being the heir, or by someone with power of attorney.

See also

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