Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
All the answers to the most frequently asked questions.
The waiting time to acquire a home will vary, depending on :
- The number of homes produced by Community Land Trust Brussels.
- Your reference number.
- Your household composition (and your housing space requirements).
- Your income category and financial capacity.
The main priority criteria is your reference number. However:
- 5% of homes are reserved as a priority for applicants whose household includes a person with a disability.
- Adapted accommodation is reserved for people with reduced mobility.
- Larger flats (3 and 4 bedrooms) are reserved in priority for large families.
You are free to express your interest in a CLTB project or not. Refusing a home in no way changes your priority for a future CLTB project. You keep your reference number for the next sale.
On the other hand, once you have applied for a property and been allocated it, you can no longer refuse it. You have signed a document and are committed to the purchase process. If you refuse, you will lose your reference number and the €2,000 deposit you have paid.
Applying for a home for sale does not mean you will be allocated one. CLTB selects those applicants who respond to the call and submit a full application within the required timeframe. We will check your income, your household composition and your financial capacity. The flat will be reserved for you if your choice matches your profile and if you are the applicant with the oldest reference number.
When you buy a flat, you need to bring the full amount of the sale price and ancillary costs with you in one go. It is unlikely that you will have the full amount at your disposal. You therefore need to take out a mortgage with a financial institution, which you then repay on a monthly basis.
Community Land Trust Brussels sells the homes but does not arrange the mortgage. To buy, you must therefore apply for a loan from a credit organisation. They will check that your request is realistic and you will pay them back. Taking out a loan means paying interest.
You are free to choose where you take out your loan. However, we advise you to apply to the Fonds du Logement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale. This Brussels-Capital Region body applies reasonable interest rates and allows you to borrow without a deposit of 10% of the price of the property.
We advise you to carry out a loan simulation with the Fonds du Logement to find out your financial capacity. You can do this online (https://websimu.wffl.be) and then contact us for a more detailed simulation by appointment:
Fonds du Logement Brussels (mortgage loans)
infopret@fonds.brussels
02 504 32 11
If you are selected for a housing project, you must deposit a €2,000 guarantee within a very short period of time. This guarantee must be paid to the CLTB when you are selected to buy a home (probably 2 years before you move in).
In addition to this, we encourage you to save as much as possible as soon as you register to prepare for your purchase. These savings will reduce the amount you need to borrow, or they may enable you to buy a home in a higher category, thereby increasing your chances of buying.
There is no age limit for joining CLTB or for becoming a homeowner. The important question to ask yourself is whether the project is financially realistic, as this depends on your situation and any savings you may have. For people over 50, it will be more difficult to obtain sufficient mortgage credit. The Fonds du Logement calculates the duration of a loan so that you will have finished repaying when you reach 70. Up to the age of 40, you can therefore borrow for 30 years. But if you are 52, for example, the maximum term of your loan will be 18 years.
You are free to sell your home whenever you like, BUT preferably not in the first 5 years. It could cost you dearly, as you may not recover the costs you invested in the purchase. What's more, the Fonds du Logement has a ‘right of pre-emption’ over the properties it finances and can demand that you pay compensation if you sell within the first 5 years and make a capital gain.
Yes, if your home is no longer suitable for your needs, you can apply for another home. However, this is only possible after 5 years following your purchase, unless there has been a serious and unforeseen change in circumstances.
Yes, this is possible, subject to certain conditions.
Do the heirs want to sell?
They are always entitled to the ‘capitalised’ value of the property (or the money from the resale).
Do the heirs want to continue living in the property?
This is possible for the first 30 years following the date of purchase. After that, CLTB will carry out a check. If the heir meets the conditions for access to social housing at the time of purchase or at the end of the 30-year period, he or she may remain in the property until the end of the 50-year term of the building lease, with the possibility of renewal.
If CLTB finds that the heir does not meet the conditions for access to social housing, CLTB will buy the property back from the heir.