BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Pieter Puelinckx, Yves Moreau, Donald Krols and Astrid Laga, Linklaters
5. Investment Vehicles 5.1 Types of Entities Available to Investors to Hold Real Estate Assets The preferred corporate vehicles for holding real estate are: • the public limited liability company (SA/NV); and • the private limited liability company (SRL/BV). Additionally, the use of limited partnerships (Scomm/CommV) is also common for holding real estate. Limited partnerships are structured with two categories of partners: • the general partner(s), which bear(s) unlimited liability for the entity’s obligations; and • the limited partner(s), whose involvement is restricted to their contributions and which may not participate to the management of the company. Belgian law also encompasses a variety of investment fund regimes. Since the estab - lishment of its dedicated regime in 2016, the “Fonds d’Investissement Immobilier Spécialisé” (FIIS)/ ”Gespecialiseerd Vastgoedbeleggings - fonds“ (GVBF), a specialised real estate invest - ment fund (SREIF), has become a prominent structure for real estate investments. It should, however, be noted that SREIFs’ investments are limited by a list of allowed investments defined by law (including, amongst others real rights on properties located in Belgium and abroad and shares of companies and investment vehicles active in real estate investments, subject to con - ditions). The shares of a SREIF can only be offered to investors eligible by law (such as institutional or professional investors, including investors reg -
4.5 Right of Appeal Against an Authority’s Decision
The permit applicant, the relevant authorities and interested third parties have the right to appeal a decision related to the granting of a permit. Depending on the region and the appeal - ing party, such appeals must be initiated through administrative procedures with (provincial or) governmental authorities or through jurisdiction procedures with the Council of State (Brussels- Capital and Walloon regions) or the Council for The permit applicant may negotiate agreements with local or governmental authorities provided that public procurement rules and general rules on transparency and equality are followed. Transfers of real rights and/or the obtaining of an occupation right on neighbouring plots of land are often negotiated with the local author - ity and/or utility suppliers to allow the execution of projects. Permit Disputes (Flemish region). 4.6 Agreements With Local or Governmental Authorities 4.7 Enforcement of Restrictions on Development and Designated Use If permit conditions are breached or construction works lack authorisation, this would constitute an infringement. In such a case, the authorities may impose administrative measures which can include cease and desist orders, site restoration, impossibility to enter into the premises. In addi - tion, the authorities can either impose criminal sanctions or, should the Prosecutor decide to not pursue it criminally, administrative fines by the competent authority. Interested third par - ties can also seek the interruption of the works through civil claims for unauthorised works, potentially resulting in premises restoration or financial compensation.
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