Brussels: Where to Live French or Dutch Area-and Cost

Be careful, there are many scammers in big cities such as Brussels.  It will probably be worth the money if you have to use an agent, because at least if you have a problem, you will have some recourse.  Housing is cheaper outside of Brussels, generally.  As far as whether to live on the Dutch side or the French side: it was my personal experience that the French were more snooty and the Dutch were more friendly.  However, it may be more to your children's advantage to learn French rather than Dutch.

mchattha wrote:

Hi,

We are moving to Brussels with our three year old kid. I came to know of Brussels is bilingual.
Since the kid will start kindergarten in local school, Little bit confused to decide on which side to live. Can you provide some reasons with pros and cons. Thanks,

Also can you advise on If we should be living in Brussels or to some where out side Brussels. If housing/apartments rents are very high in Brussels. Please also advise what are the areas where I should not look at all and what are the better one.

I also need advise on how the real estate works in Belgium. How much are the Security deposits and how much to pay to the real estate agents. Is it possible to find an apartment without Estate agent ,if their fees are high.

Thank you,

There are no Dutch or French areas in Brussels region, the region is 92% French speaking and 8% Dutch speaking amongst the Belgian population, as low as 2% in southern communes such as Uccle and Forest and as high as 15% in north-west commune of Berchem-Ste-Agathe as a rough guide.

Choose somewhere with a good commute to work.

There are no estate agents' fees.

Security deposit is a maximum of 2 months on a standard 9 year contract (avoid fixed contracts available up to 3 years max, they are usually very bad).

Use www.immoweb.be to find out rental prices, it's impossible to say with no idea about what you are looking for.

Agree with last post.

IMO is better to avoid agents unless you want a unique property or advice on tax planning for a real estate investment.

As to scams, just ignore anyone asking you to send money by western Union  or similar means.

Traffic is hell and you should chose a place near the work or the school. If work is in the EU quartier, then expect high prices. True, outside Brussels is cheaper and houses are bigger but quality of life (time lost in traffic jams) is low. Also avoid Flemish speaking area outside Brussels, narrow minded and rude public servants expect that foreigners speak their local Dutch language.

Most rental properties are advertised via estate agents who advertise on www.immoweb.be.
If there are properties you are interested in and they are advertised with an estate agent, rather than directly by the landlord, as the majority of Brussels rentals are, then you are going to have to deal with estate agents. Avoiding all adverts on immoweb which are put on their by estate agents cuts out I'd say at least 90% of choice.

The estate agents are paid by landlords, typically they receive the first month's rent as their commission. Just take everything they say with caution and do not be led to other properties you have not chosen yourself, without doing your own research first.

True, last post introduces an important clarification. Agents can act on the side of landlords and tenants. The suggestion to avoid agents was on tenant (your) side. Many properties are indeed advertised through agents and this shouldn't be a problem. However, be aware that some agents are unscrupulous, you may find the same property advertised by a private owner and an agency, the latter offering a slightly higher price. The latter is most likely a hijacked property, the agent steal the pictures and property description and then makes its own ads with a higher price (they send people to the landlord and then try to extort a fee). Call first the private owner and try to find out if the agent's ad is legitimate.

Thank you very much guys for all the valued information, which is very useful and clears many of my questions.
I'm favoring French area as it can be advantage for my child to learn French from the beginning.
As I understand that rents would be on the higher side in Brussels with small housing compared to outside Brussels. My work will be at Etterbeek and I can commute to office for 40-45 minutes using the public transport. Can you guys kindly advise (mention) me some areas on the French side from where office is reachable with 1 hour.

I shall be looking for 2-3 bed room apartment/house and prefer a quiet area ,away from the center. May be some parks near by and off course kindergarten not far.

Thanks in advance.