My experience with shared housing in Brussels as a landlord
Karim, a landlord in Schaerbeek, shares how he converted his 4-bedroom house into shared housing. Flatshare agreement, turnover, profitability and mistakes to avoid.
The project
I bought this house in Schaerbeek in 2019 for 320,000 EUR. Three floors, 4 bedrooms, a large living room, two bathrooms. For 3 years, I rented it to a family for 1,400 EUR per month. Decent profitability, but nothing more.
In 2022, when the family moved out, I did the maths: with shared housing, I could aim for 550 to 600 EUR per room, potentially 2,200 to 2,400 EUR per month. Almost double. The idea appealed to me, but I did not yet realise what it would involve in terms of management.
The adaptation works: 8,500 EUR and 6 weeks
The house was not designed for shared housing. Adjustments were needed:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Individual lock per room | 1,200 EUR |
| Shared kitchen equipment (appliances, utensils) | 2,800 EUR |
| Bedroom furniture (4 beds, desks, wardrobes) | 3,200 EUR |
| Repainting common areas | 800 EUR |
| Electricity meter: individual sub-metering | 500 EUR |
| Total | 8,500 EUR |
In Brussels, converting to shared housing does not require a planning permit if you do not modify the building structure. However, each room must comply with minimum floor area standards (9 m2) and fire safety regulations. Have your municipality verify this.
I carried out the works in July-August 2022, during the vacancy period. Six weeks without rent, but it was necessary to start on the right foot.
The lease choice: individual or single?
This is the first major decision. I consulted a specialist lawyer and opted for individual leases: one contract per room, with shared use of common areas.
Why? Because with a single lease and a solidarity clause, one flatmate leaving blocks everyone. You have to find a replacement accepted by all, sign an amendment, etc. With individual leases, each tenant is autonomous. If one leaves, the others continue paying their share without being affected.
The downside: in case of unpaid rent, I cannot turn to the other flatmates to cover the defaulter’s share. I accept this risk. In two years, I have had only one month of unpaid rent, and the tenant settled after a formal notice.
Each lease provides for an individual rent, a rental guarantee of 2 months in a blocked account, and a reference to the flatshare agreement for communal living rules.
The first months: organised chaos
The 4 rooms were rented within 3 weeks via Immoweb and Facebook groups. Profiles: two master’s students, a young professional on a permanent contract, an expat on a 12-month assignment. Rents: 540, 560, 600 and 620 EUR depending on the size and exposure of the room. Total: 2,320 EUR.
The first 3 months were chaotic. No flatshare agreement, no clear rules. Tensions rose quickly: cleaning not done, noise in the evening, fridge “hogged” by a single flatmate.
I believed that, as adults, the flatmates would organise themselves. That is wrong. Without written rules, everyone has their own definition of “clean” and “reasonable”. The flatshare agreement is not optional: it is an absolute necessity.
In December 2022, I drafted a 4-page flatshare agreement: cleaning schedule, noise rules, use of spaces, visitor management, replacement procedures. Each new flatmate signs it upon moving in. Since then, conflicts have decreased drastically.
Managing turnover: the reality of shared housing
In 2 years, I have had 6 flatmate changes across 4 rooms. This is the normal pace in Brussels shared housing, especially with student or expat profiles.
Each departure follows the same process:
- The flatmate gives notice (3 months for a primary residence lease)
- I publish the ad immediately
- Exit inventory with the departing tenant
- Possible room touch-up (200 to 400 EUR)
- Entry inventory with the new tenant
The average time between two tenants: 8 days. I had only one long vacancy (5 weeks) for a basement room with little natural light. I ended up lowering the rent by 40 EUR to make it attractive.
To reduce turnover, I now favour profiles on permanent contracts or long-term leases. Students often leave after 10-12 months. Professionals stay an average of 18 months. It makes a real difference in terms of stability and rotation costs.
The real profitability: the figures after 2 years
Here is an honest comparison between my traditional letting (2019-2022) and shared housing (2022-2024):
| Item | Traditional letting | Shared housing |
|---|---|---|
| Gross monthly rent | 1,400 EUR | 2,360 EUR |
| Property tax (smoothed) | -180 EUR/month | -180 EUR/month |
| Landlord insurance | -55 EUR/month | -70 EUR/month |
| Maintenance / repairs | -80 EUR/month | -150 EUR/month |
| Vacancy (smoothed) | -35 EUR/month | -60 EUR/month |
| Turnover (painting, cleaning) | 0 EUR | -90 EUR/month |
| Management time | ~1 h/month | ~6 h/month |
| Net monthly income | ~1,050 EUR | ~1,810 EUR |
The net gain is approximately 760 EUR per month, or 9,120 EUR per year. But you need to count 5 extra hours of management per month: communicating with 4 tenants instead of one, managing arrivals/departures, occasional mediation.
Per hour, this additional work is “paid” approximately 150 EUR/h. It remains highly profitable, but it is not passive income. A rental management software helps me automate receipts and indexation, saving me about 2 hours per month.
Review after 2 years
Shared housing is objectively more profitable than traditional letting, but it is a different job. It is not just “renting out a property”: it is managing a micro-community.
What I would do exactly the same:
- Individual leases: the flexibility is well worth the additional risk
- Strict flatshare agreement: drafted before the first letting
- Furnished rooms: they attract mobile profiles (expats, young professionals) and justify a higher rent
What I would change:
- Install individual water and electricity meters from the start to avoid disputes over charges
- Favour profiles on permanent contracts rather than students to reduce turnover
- Use an expert for each property inventory instead of doing it alone
If you are considering shared housing, do your calculations factoring in turnover, management time and faster wear and tear on the property. If the numbers still hold up after that, go for it.
- “**Draft a flatshare agreement before even publishing the ad.** I made the mistake of letting the flatmates organise themselves for the first 3 months. Result: dishes piling up, cleaning not done, tensions. Since I started requiring a signed agreement with task allocation and house rules, conflicts have dropped by 80%.
- “**Budget 500 EUR per room per year for turnover.** Between touch-up painting, replacing worn small furniture and a few days of vacancy, each departure costs money. Factor this into your profitability calculations.
- “**Opt for individual leases rather than a single lease.** If one flatmate leaves, the others are not jointly liable for their share. It means more administrative work, but far less financial risk.
Frequently asked questions
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Both options are legal in Brussels. A single lease with a solidarity clause better protects the landlord in case of unpaid rent, but complicates replacing a flatmate. Individual leases offer more flexibility: each tenant is responsible only for their own share of the rent, and a departure does not affect the other contracts.
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A flatshare agreement is not legally mandatory, but it is strongly recommended. It is a private document between flatmates that governs communal living: allocation of charges, cleaning rules, use of common areas, arrival and departure procedures. It does not bind the landlord but considerably reduces conflicts.
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With individual leases, the departing flatmate gives notice according to the legal deadlines. The landlord publishes an ad for the vacant room and signs a new lease with the replacement. With a single lease, the departing flatmate must find a replacement accepted by the other flatmates and the landlord, and then an amendment to the lease is signed.
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Generally, yes. In Schaerbeek, a 4-bedroom house rents for around 1,400 EUR as a traditional let, compared to 2,200 to 2,400 EUR in shared housing (550 to 600 EUR per room). But you need to deduct more frequent turnover, furnishing common areas and additional management time. The net gain is generally between 30 and 50%.
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