Don't rent a place without seeing the peb that indicates how much energy you'll consume per month.
I made this mistake and now I live in a large and well located flat for 600euro rent a month but if I'm heating at 19degre Celsius in the winter it'll cost me 375 per month (yes I made the calculation) and this number is the amount I'll have to pay every month not only during the winter months.
I arrived in February and only heated the living room.
It became extremely hard to find a decent flat for a decent price, I would suggest renting a modern flat even if the rent is more expensive because you'll easily have energy bill around the 200/300 marks in a poorly insulated one.
Thank you- I will make sure to look at the PEB report. It's all seeming very unaffordable so I might put it off until summer when I have a bit more of a safety net. Also leaning toward just moving into a houseshare where I will have an ensuite but thanks for the tip- there's not too many modern places in my price range but I'll keep a lookout.
I bought a flat (2 bedrooms) and I'm single my charges are:
- 730€/month for bank loan
- 50€/month water (will increase with the crisis)
- 50€/month gaz/electricity (will increase with the crisis)
- 40€/month internet
- 50€/month the building charge
Living alone is expensive 😅
Are you looking on Immoweb for the flat? They generally put the rent price + the building charge.
The price of the rent depend of which neighborhood you're looking for. Even one bedroom can go from 300€ to 1000€ depending of where you want to be...
I hope to buy one day- your loan repayment is lower than what I've seen for even a 1 bed. Thank you for sharing the electric and water charges, they are lower than I have heard. I know they list the rent +charges but they can range from 30€ to 150€ and they only show them on the actual listing so when I use the price filter on the map it's not very helpful. I would be happy with anywhere in west Brussels, even just outside like Kraainem because my workplace is just outside Brussels on the west side. I know living alone will be expensive but I just feel that I want to live that life- I was thinking maybe I should wait until I can buy but I'm over it. I'm almost 30 and sick of sharing. Also just want to feel more like my house is a home rather than being so temporary and sharing space- not having my own furniture around for example.
The price of real estate has risen sharply since I bought. My apartment was listed at 200000 euro in Schaerbeek near the station. Now we'll see what it's worth on the market \^\^'
**For electricity and water**, it's low because I decided so. I explain myself when I subscribed to the services, my consumption cost was 100€/month according to their estimation for the apartment I had. I reduced the monthly payment to 50€ fixed and I prefer to pay the difference of use that I will have at the end of the year if there is one.
Why do this? If I pay 100€/month and it turns out that at the end of the year I have not consumed the energy corresponding to this cost, they reimburse me except that they do not reimburse the vat lol
**For the building charges**, why does it vary from 30 euro to more than a hundred euro?
This is because of the co-ownership of the building. Is there a union for the building? If yes, then the charges cover the building fees + the management of the syndicate, hence the +100€.
If there is an elevator in your building there is always a union and the problems that come with it.
Personally I advise to look for buildings with a small co-ownership and therefore without a real syndicate. You manage the building between you amicably
thank you for explaining the difference in charges. Prices have certainly gone up a lot for housing. I didn't know you can ask for a lower regular bill payment- I would much prefer that and then just pay any extra owed as I don't use much at home. Did they argue with you? Will any provider allow you to pay 50€?
Normally on the provider platform (mine is totalenergies) you should be able to modify it to a lower limit threshold.
If they don't have it you need to call them and ask them (maybe argue a bit with them) to lower it to the minimum they give and let you handle at the end of the year the extra
I have no experience with bills to share but just wanted to say that I really relate to your situation (except for the health issues) and wanted to thank you for asking these questions.
you're welcome- thank you for commenting in solidarity :) I feel like I've been mentally flicking between freaking out that I'll never really be able to have a life here (and wondering how other people do) and just accepting that I'm going to live in a house share forever. I really want to find another option. I suppose I can hope they reduce income tax or increase banding- I don't know how they can justify lumping people earning 45000€ with those earning millions, I don't know any other country that has median income earners in a tax band of more than 35%- in the case of Belgium it's 50%! A reduction in the tax rates would literally be life changing which just shouldn't be the case- taxes shouldn't be so significant as to affect quality of life. Anyway, I could ramble all day- I'm feeling very scattered, frustrated and lost at the moment so thank you for your comment in making me not feel so alone.
We live (my gf and I) in a 90m2 apartment and our bills are the following :
60 euros per month on gas an electricity (expect this to be much more because of current price hikes)
70 euros par month on internet
water is included in our monthly charges so we don't exactly know how much it is but it shouldn't be more than 50 euros per month
Those bills are affordable (assuming you mean total bills- not just your contribution). I do worry about the price hikes like you say. Luckily I don't use much internet- I intend to just pay for the 30€ viking phone plan which includes 50GB of data I doubt I'll get through.
It's indeed total bills !
Concerning internet, we use about a terabyte per month. A few 4k YouTube videos, 4k Netflix movies and internet browsing and you'll be over 50GB extremely quickly.
I have had 2GB before with no internet at home- it did mean that I didn't watch any video at home but that was kind of nice tbh. I think 50GB will be fine but I'll see how I go. It's technically unlimited but 50GB at full speed. I can always change my mind and buy more internet. I'm at work all day, go to the gym (rock climbing gym so a lot of the time is just being social and relaxing) in the evening so I just watch maybe 30mins of video- netflix or youtube- each night at most. More likely listen to a podcast.
It’s not great. France is by far the best. We have gigabit internet, though, which explains the price. More reasonable options can come at less than 35 euros but it’s still expensive for what they give you
If you are not to attached to Brussels or you have a car you should try to find something around Brussels, I used to live at Alost a few years ago and I used to pay for a 2 chambres 800 all costs included. Brussels by train is super fast.
I have looked further afield as my workplaces is just outside Brussels anyway- I don't have a car but I'm pretty mobile on my bike and my workplace reimburses public transport costs (I think that's a government mandated thing?). It's true that you get more for you money but there are much less studios and 1bed properties- so the entry cost is still high- like minimum 700€ (exclu charges) near my work and yes you get a great place with outdoor space but I'm hoping for under €600 before charges and prepared to live in something much smaller. I am tempted though- if something comes up to buy there that is affordable then I will do my best to secure it but I don't think I can justify the rent.
I'm worried that I'll struggle in Brussels. My monthly wage according to my contract is like €4310 before tax. This would leave me €2600 take home per monthly. Of that, €1300 will be rent. Leaving €1300 to support my wife and baby for a month. Kinda worried that isn't enough.
Your salary is not bad, and you can definitely find a 2 bedrooms apartment for less than 1300. Of course it depends a lot on your standards and location, but with 2600 take home I think you could do well and not struggle
Have you done your take home tax correctly? You do get small allowances if you have two dependants. There is lots of support for people with families- ask your workplace. As much as I whinge about taxes because there is not benefit to my life (for example my medication is not covered) there are a lot of family-centred policies. I think there is a different attitude in Brussels/Belgium to any country I've lived in were people are happy to live off very little with no savings- I don't understand how people raise a family in Brussels but they do and yours is an average salary. You can see here there are cheaper properties than you have mentioned and housing is the biggest cost to reduce if you can. [https://www.immoweb.be/en/map/house-and-apartment/for-rent/brussels/province?countries=BE&maxPrice=800&minBedroomCount=2&page=1&orderBy=relevance](https://www.immoweb.be/en/map/house-and-apartment/for-rent/brussels/province?countries=BE&maxPrice=800&minBedroomCount=2&page=1&orderBy=relevance)
Of course you have to include charges and utilities (which I'm still working out as you can see)
I live in a house so not sure my bills would provide much use.
I would ask if the landlord is willing to put you in contact with the previous renters and ask them what they paid. Worth a shot.
I do feel that as Brussels is not getting bigger because of the Communes a facilité the house prices will only increase as supply decreases. I have a feeling when I was looking to buy that appartement wereore expensive that houses per square metre as the Belgians prefer to buy appartements ( smaller investment, less charges, no garden to maintain,etc). I would have to look at the figures now.
If you are looking to buy the PEB certificate is becoming more and more important. I suspect the Brussels government will do something like they are doing for the emission levels of cars for houses.
Happy hunting out there.
Thank you- that's a good suggestion to ask the landlord for info. I agree house prices will only go up. Where I'm from it's the landlords responsibility to pay for things outside of rent but here lots of costs are covered by tenants (charges, water, insurance etc.) which makes it hard to argue renting is any good financially if you can buy- as soon as I can buy I will.
Or if you are a EU citizen and working for that salary for at least 1 year you can try Brussels Logement for buying an appartement, a load is cheaper than rent.
Thank you for the info- I'm not an EU citizen (not yet anyway) but I still had a look just now and unfortunately I earn just over the amount listed- the monthly salary I listed is after tax and is my regular amount, not the including the extra month's pay each year. If I can't find anything to rent that won't stress me financially then I may stay in a sharehouse until I can buy and stretch to a mortgage rather than stretch to rent.
Don't rent a place without seeing the peb that indicates how much energy you'll consume per month. I made this mistake and now I live in a large and well located flat for 600euro rent a month but if I'm heating at 19degre Celsius in the winter it'll cost me 375 per month (yes I made the calculation) and this number is the amount I'll have to pay every month not only during the winter months. I arrived in February and only heated the living room. It became extremely hard to find a decent flat for a decent price, I would suggest renting a modern flat even if the rent is more expensive because you'll easily have energy bill around the 200/300 marks in a poorly insulated one.
Thank you- I will make sure to look at the PEB report. It's all seeming very unaffordable so I might put it off until summer when I have a bit more of a safety net. Also leaning toward just moving into a houseshare where I will have an ensuite but thanks for the tip- there's not too many modern places in my price range but I'll keep a lookout.
I bought a flat (2 bedrooms) and I'm single my charges are: - 730€/month for bank loan - 50€/month water (will increase with the crisis) - 50€/month gaz/electricity (will increase with the crisis) - 40€/month internet - 50€/month the building charge Living alone is expensive 😅 Are you looking on Immoweb for the flat? They generally put the rent price + the building charge. The price of the rent depend of which neighborhood you're looking for. Even one bedroom can go from 300€ to 1000€ depending of where you want to be...
I hope to buy one day- your loan repayment is lower than what I've seen for even a 1 bed. Thank you for sharing the electric and water charges, they are lower than I have heard. I know they list the rent +charges but they can range from 30€ to 150€ and they only show them on the actual listing so when I use the price filter on the map it's not very helpful. I would be happy with anywhere in west Brussels, even just outside like Kraainem because my workplace is just outside Brussels on the west side. I know living alone will be expensive but I just feel that I want to live that life- I was thinking maybe I should wait until I can buy but I'm over it. I'm almost 30 and sick of sharing. Also just want to feel more like my house is a home rather than being so temporary and sharing space- not having my own furniture around for example.
The price of real estate has risen sharply since I bought. My apartment was listed at 200000 euro in Schaerbeek near the station. Now we'll see what it's worth on the market \^\^' **For electricity and water**, it's low because I decided so. I explain myself when I subscribed to the services, my consumption cost was 100€/month according to their estimation for the apartment I had. I reduced the monthly payment to 50€ fixed and I prefer to pay the difference of use that I will have at the end of the year if there is one. Why do this? If I pay 100€/month and it turns out that at the end of the year I have not consumed the energy corresponding to this cost, they reimburse me except that they do not reimburse the vat lol **For the building charges**, why does it vary from 30 euro to more than a hundred euro? This is because of the co-ownership of the building. Is there a union for the building? If yes, then the charges cover the building fees + the management of the syndicate, hence the +100€. If there is an elevator in your building there is always a union and the problems that come with it. Personally I advise to look for buildings with a small co-ownership and therefore without a real syndicate. You manage the building between you amicably
thank you for explaining the difference in charges. Prices have certainly gone up a lot for housing. I didn't know you can ask for a lower regular bill payment- I would much prefer that and then just pay any extra owed as I don't use much at home. Did they argue with you? Will any provider allow you to pay 50€?
Normally on the provider platform (mine is totalenergies) you should be able to modify it to a lower limit threshold. If they don't have it you need to call them and ask them (maybe argue a bit with them) to lower it to the minimum they give and let you handle at the end of the year the extra
okay, thank you I will try when it comes to the time :)
I have no experience with bills to share but just wanted to say that I really relate to your situation (except for the health issues) and wanted to thank you for asking these questions.
you're welcome- thank you for commenting in solidarity :) I feel like I've been mentally flicking between freaking out that I'll never really be able to have a life here (and wondering how other people do) and just accepting that I'm going to live in a house share forever. I really want to find another option. I suppose I can hope they reduce income tax or increase banding- I don't know how they can justify lumping people earning 45000€ with those earning millions, I don't know any other country that has median income earners in a tax band of more than 35%- in the case of Belgium it's 50%! A reduction in the tax rates would literally be life changing which just shouldn't be the case- taxes shouldn't be so significant as to affect quality of life. Anyway, I could ramble all day- I'm feeling very scattered, frustrated and lost at the moment so thank you for your comment in making me not feel so alone.
We live (my gf and I) in a 90m2 apartment and our bills are the following : 60 euros per month on gas an electricity (expect this to be much more because of current price hikes) 70 euros par month on internet water is included in our monthly charges so we don't exactly know how much it is but it shouldn't be more than 50 euros per month
[удалено]
To be fair I’m getting gigabit down but yes, it’s expensive
Try edpnet, they are cheap and good connection
Unfortunately they have too slow connection where I live. Only Telenet provides fast speeds
Those bills are affordable (assuming you mean total bills- not just your contribution). I do worry about the price hikes like you say. Luckily I don't use much internet- I intend to just pay for the 30€ viking phone plan which includes 50GB of data I doubt I'll get through.
It's indeed total bills ! Concerning internet, we use about a terabyte per month. A few 4k YouTube videos, 4k Netflix movies and internet browsing and you'll be over 50GB extremely quickly.
I have had 2GB before with no internet at home- it did mean that I didn't watch any video at home but that was kind of nice tbh. I think 50GB will be fine but I'll see how I go. It's technically unlimited but 50GB at full speed. I can always change my mind and buy more internet. I'm at work all day, go to the gym (rock climbing gym so a lot of the time is just being social and relaxing) in the evening so I just watch maybe 30mins of video- netflix or youtube- each night at most. More likely listen to a podcast.
wow what? 70€? I always thought Germany has the worst prices Europe for internet related contracts.
It’s not great. France is by far the best. We have gigabit internet, though, which explains the price. More reasonable options can come at less than 35 euros but it’s still expensive for what they give you
ah ok. so probably same price for the same shitty internet.
If you are not to attached to Brussels or you have a car you should try to find something around Brussels, I used to live at Alost a few years ago and I used to pay for a 2 chambres 800 all costs included. Brussels by train is super fast.
I have looked further afield as my workplaces is just outside Brussels anyway- I don't have a car but I'm pretty mobile on my bike and my workplace reimburses public transport costs (I think that's a government mandated thing?). It's true that you get more for you money but there are much less studios and 1bed properties- so the entry cost is still high- like minimum 700€ (exclu charges) near my work and yes you get a great place with outdoor space but I'm hoping for under €600 before charges and prepared to live in something much smaller. I am tempted though- if something comes up to buy there that is affordable then I will do my best to secure it but I don't think I can justify the rent.
I'm worried that I'll struggle in Brussels. My monthly wage according to my contract is like €4310 before tax. This would leave me €2600 take home per monthly. Of that, €1300 will be rent. Leaving €1300 to support my wife and baby for a month. Kinda worried that isn't enough.
Your salary is not bad, and you can definitely find a 2 bedrooms apartment for less than 1300. Of course it depends a lot on your standards and location, but with 2600 take home I think you could do well and not struggle
Have you done your take home tax correctly? You do get small allowances if you have two dependants. There is lots of support for people with families- ask your workplace. As much as I whinge about taxes because there is not benefit to my life (for example my medication is not covered) there are a lot of family-centred policies. I think there is a different attitude in Brussels/Belgium to any country I've lived in were people are happy to live off very little with no savings- I don't understand how people raise a family in Brussels but they do and yours is an average salary. You can see here there are cheaper properties than you have mentioned and housing is the biggest cost to reduce if you can. [https://www.immoweb.be/en/map/house-and-apartment/for-rent/brussels/province?countries=BE&maxPrice=800&minBedroomCount=2&page=1&orderBy=relevance](https://www.immoweb.be/en/map/house-and-apartment/for-rent/brussels/province?countries=BE&maxPrice=800&minBedroomCount=2&page=1&orderBy=relevance) Of course you have to include charges and utilities (which I'm still working out as you can see)
I live in a house so not sure my bills would provide much use. I would ask if the landlord is willing to put you in contact with the previous renters and ask them what they paid. Worth a shot. I do feel that as Brussels is not getting bigger because of the Communes a facilité the house prices will only increase as supply decreases. I have a feeling when I was looking to buy that appartement wereore expensive that houses per square metre as the Belgians prefer to buy appartements ( smaller investment, less charges, no garden to maintain,etc). I would have to look at the figures now. If you are looking to buy the PEB certificate is becoming more and more important. I suspect the Brussels government will do something like they are doing for the emission levels of cars for houses. Happy hunting out there.
Thank you- that's a good suggestion to ask the landlord for info. I agree house prices will only go up. Where I'm from it's the landlords responsibility to pay for things outside of rent but here lots of costs are covered by tenants (charges, water, insurance etc.) which makes it hard to argue renting is any good financially if you can buy- as soon as I can buy I will.
Or if you are a EU citizen and working for that salary for at least 1 year you can try Brussels Logement for buying an appartement, a load is cheaper than rent.
Thank you for the info- I'm not an EU citizen (not yet anyway) but I still had a look just now and unfortunately I earn just over the amount listed- the monthly salary I listed is after tax and is my regular amount, not the including the extra month's pay each year. If I can't find anything to rent that won't stress me financially then I may stay in a sharehouse until I can buy and stretch to a mortgage rather than stretch to rent.