Real Estate 2024

BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Pieter Puelinckx, Yves Moreau, Melissa Verplancke and Gauthier Callens, Linklaters

• the acquisition by IRET of the Grand Bazar shopping center; • the acquisition by BNP Paribas REIM of five companies holding five healthcare properties from Baltisse Real Estate; • the sale of the Blue Towers in Ghent to Reactr; • several transactions in the hotel real estate investment market, involving among others Extendam, Limestone, FICO and Van der Valk; • the transfer of the office part of the AXS mixed-use development project by Baltisse to AGRE and Baloise; and • the sale by Cofinimmo of Park Hill to License to Construct. 1.3 Proposals for Reform In the context of the Civil Code reform (see 1.1 Main Sources of Law ), several of the Civil Code Books affecting the real estate practice are already in force: Book 3 (Property Law) since 1 September 2021, and Books 1 (General Provi - sions) and 5 (Obligations) since 1 January 2023. On 1 February 2024, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives approved Book 6, which will include a reform of the Extracontractual Liability regime in Belgian law. Its provisions are set to enter into force six months after their publication in the Belgian gazette. Proposals for Book 9 and Book 7, which encompass securities and special contracts (including sales and leases), were filed in February and April 2024 respectively.

• Ownership – provides the owner with use, enjoyment, and disposal rights regarding their property (subject to legal limits). It is a per - petual right. • Co-ownership – shared property rights among multiple (natural or legal) persons over the same asset or set of assets, without exclusive right over such asset(s) or parts of them. • Easements – property right of use involving the imposition of a charge on a property ben - efitting another. • Usufruct – temporary entitlement to prudent and reasonable use and enjoyment of some - one else’s property, in accordance with the property’s purpose, with the obligation to return the property upon expiration or the right (upon death of the holder or, for legal persons, their bankruptcy or dissolution). • Long-term lease right – extensive use and enjoyment of another’s property for a mini - mum of 15 years up to 99 years (or perpetual, subject to conditions). • Right to build – ownership of volumes (con - structed or not) on another person’s prop - erty, for the purpose of erecting buildings or plantings, lasting up to 99 years (or perpetual, subject to conditions). Real securities, including special privileges, mortgages, pledges, and retention rights, also fall within this closed system. 2.2 Laws Applicable to Transfer of Title In asset deal transactions, the general principle is that the transfer of ownership occurs when parties agree on essential elements (mainly the object and price). Exceptions may apply, such as court-ordered transfers in the context of owner - ship disputes.

2. Sale and Purchase 2.1 Categories of Property Rights

The different types of Belgian property rights are exhaustive in nature, as only the legislator can establish new property rights. The current legal property rights are:

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