Move-in and move-out inventory in Flanders: what is mandatory

Yes, the move-in inventory is mandatory. The Flemish Residential Lease Decree requires landlord and tenant to draw up a detailed inventory (plaatsbeschrijving) together, on an adversarial basis and at joint cost, either while the property is still empty or during the first month in which the tenant uses it. The document is attached to the lease and must be registered through MyRent like the lease itself. Registering the lease is your duty as landlord, within two months of signing; the inventory is registered with it, even if it is only finished during the first month of occupancy. Without an inventory the tenant is presumed to have received the property in the state they leave it in at the end, unless you prove otherwise; you can still establish damage with other evidence, but it becomes much harder.

Adversarial and at joint cost

Adversarial means both parties are present or represented and sign the document. You can draw it up yourself, with photos and a description per room, or hire an expert; in that case you share the cost unless the contract says otherwise. If something important changes during the lease, such as a renovation, you add an addendum.

The move-out inventory

The move-out inventory is not mandatory in the same sense, but without it you have nothing to set against the move-in one. Draw it up when the tenant hands back the keys, with the same method and the same person as at move-in. The difference between the two documents, minus normal wear, is the only basis for a deduction from the deposit for damage.

Where UnitDesk helps

UnitDesk keeps the move-in and move-out dates per lease, separate from the contractual start and end dates, and shows in one overview which move-ins and move-outs are scheduled in the coming weeks and which are done. So at every key handover you know the inventory has to happen that day or within the month. The inventory itself stays with the registered lease; UnitDesk does not store the document.