Public Management Right

The Public Management Right (Droit de Gestion Publique) enables a Public Management Operator to take over temporary management of an unoccupied or substandard property, renovate it and rent it out at a reduced rate for a minimum period of 9 years. 

On 23 March 2022, the Brussels Parliament adopted an Opens in new windowordinance amending the Housing Code with regard to the public management right and unoccupied housing (effective from 23 December 2022). The ordinance Opens in new windowclarifies the procedure and strengthens the tools and resources available to Public Management Operators to activate this mechanism more effectively. 

• Unoccupied properties. 
• Housing banned from rental by the Regional Housing Inspectorate (DIRL). 
• Housing declared uninhabitable (Art.135). 

• The 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region. 
• The 19 Public Centres for Social Welfare (PCSW) in the Brussels-Capital Region. 
• Autonomous municipal authorities. 
• The Land Management Agency (Régie Foncière) of the Brussels-Capital Region. 
• The Brussels Regional Public Service (SPRB) 

The objective of the public management right is to carry out the necessary renovations to bring the property up to the standards required by the Housing Code so that it can be rented to tenants who: 

• are eligible for social housing; 
  AND
  • are forced to leave a property that does not meet or no longer meets the requirements for sanitation, safety and facilities; 
    OR
  • whose property has been the subject of a rental ban by 
    order of the mayor. 

The Redevelopment Unit of the Regional Service for Unoccupied Housing is a multi-disciplinary team comprised of legal experts, administrative managers, architects and construction supervisors. 

It provides legal, technical, administrative and financial support to Public Management Operators in their efforts to return unoccupied housing to the rental market. 

Our practical guide for professionals explains the step-by-step procedure for implementing the public management right and how the Redevelopment Unit can assist you in your efforts: 

1. Analysis - Appropriateness of the operation 
2. Visit - Diagnosis of the property 
3. Preliminary studies - Feasibility 
4. Management proposal - Analysis of owner's feedback 
5. Management takeover - Administrative procedures 
6. Renovation - Framework agreement and works 
7. Rental- Rental management 
8. End of management - End of procedure