Ten-year liability in Belgium: 10 years of protection

The ten-year liability is the cornerstone of protection for new-dwelling buyers in Belgium. It requires the builder to be liable, for ten full years, for defects compromising the solidity or water-tightness of the works. Inscribed since 1804 in the Civil Code (articles 1792 and 2270, recodified in 2024 in articles 5.99 et seq. of Book 5), it was reinforced by the Peeters law of 31 May 2017 which now imposes mandatory insurance on all shell-and-core stakeholders. For a buyer, it is the only warranty that survives so long after reception: it is worth knowing precisely.

What ten-year liability covers exactly

The 10-year construction warranty does not play for any defect. It triggers only when a disorder undermines the solidity of the works or one of its non-detachable elements, or compromises water-tightness to the point of rendering the property unfit for its intended use. In practice, the firm sees three families of losses recur: progressive structural cracks (foundation movements, differential settlements, reinforcement defect), major infiltrations (roof, façade, terrace, basement caisson) and thermal insulation defects when they make the dwelling unhealthy within the meaning of the Walloon or Brussels Code.

Not covered by ten-year liability belgium: aesthetic defects, normal wear, maintenance default, nor detachable equipment (boiler, taps, motorised shutters) which fall under the two-year warranty. Visible defects observed at the reception minutes and not lifted fall under the warranty of perfect completion on one year. The boundary between these three regimes is the subject of the majority of disputes: a precise legal qualification of the disorder determines the applicable warranty and therefore the timeframe to act.

Start date and duration: the jurisprudential reading

The start date of the 10-year period is a sensitive question. The Court of Cassation considers, since its judgments of 18 May 1961 and 4 March 1977, that the period runs from the acceptance of the works, which in Belgian practice dominated by the Breyne Law (law of 9 July 1971) corresponds to the provisional reception. It is therefore the provisional reception minutes that authenticate the activation date.

Carefully keep this minutes document, dated, signed and accompanied by its photographic annexes. In case of dispute ten years later, it is this document that establishes the calendar: without it, prescription becomes unmanageable. Note that the period is strict: no cause of suspension is admitted except written acknowledgement by the builder or court summons. A simple formal notice does not suspend the period — hence the importance of acting quickly as soon as a suspicious disorder is discovered.

For elements completed after reception (late completions, lifting of reservations with complete replacement of a work), case law admits a sliding start date at the date of the additional service. This subtlety protects the buyer in case of significant rework.

Mandatory insurance since the Peeters law

Before 2017, only architects were legally required to take out ten-year insurance. This created an absurd imbalance: in case of contractor bankruptcy, the buyer often had no one left to turn to. The law of 31 May 2017 known as the Peeters law corrected this: since 1 July 2018, any contractor, architect or provider intervening on the shell-and-core of a dwelling must present a ten-year insurance certificate to the principal before site start.

This insurance covers the risk over 10 years, regardless of the company’s financial health. Concretely, before signing any down payment, you must demand the nominative certificate mentioning your site. The firm systematically verifies the validity of the certificate (vintage, coverages, caps) during its Breyne Law support missions. An absent or expired certificate is a major alarm signal: Assuralia and the FPS Economy maintain lists of approved insurers.

Case study: progressive cracks on turnkey villa

A representative case: villa received in 2021, cracks appearing in the living-room ceiling in 2025, four years after the minutes. The buyer hesitates — normal shrinkage cracks or structural disorder? An adversarial expertise reveals a master-beam reinforcement defect, clearly ten-year disorder. Restoration cost: €38,400 excl. VAT. The contractor, since in reorganisation, cannot pay; but the Peeters insurance indemnifies in full after 7 months of procedure.

Without independent expertise, the buyer would probably have closed the matter or accepted cosmetic patching. The lesson is clear: as soon as a disorder may be ten-year, have the defect qualified by an expert before prescription threatens.

Pitfalls to avoid

• Confusing ten-year and perfect completion: an aesthetic defect not lifted at the minutes does not fall under ten-year, even if it appears later. The nature of the disorder prevails.
• Waiting for things to worsen: case law sometimes blames the buyer for passivity. Upon discovery, have it observed and notify by registered letter.
• Accepting a hasty repair without expertise: patching without diagnosis can mask a root cause and restart a disorder cycle after the period expires.
• Forgetting to verify the Peeters certificate: without it, in case of bankruptcy, the warranty becomes theoretical.
• Believing ten-year covers the whole building: only load-bearing elements or those making the works unfit for purpose enter the scope.

What to do if a ten-year defect appears?

First reflex: document (dated photos, videos, dimensional measurements over time to show progressivity). Second reflex: formal notice by registered letter to the builder and their Peeters insurer, explicitly mentioning the ten-year character of the disorder. Third reflex: amicable adversarial expertise, if possible before any judicial procedure.

If amicable fails, the first-instance court (civil chamber) remains competent; judicial expertise is almost always ordered. Plan 12 to 24 months of procedure. The firm Mon Etat Des Lieux intervenes at the pre-judicial stage to qualify the disorder, price the restoration and draft the detailed formal notice. Request a free quote or consult our defects expertise service if you suspect a serious defect on your new dwelling.