gibeon.ioWhat must legally be on your for-sale sign and in your window?
What the government asks in an advert for a property for sale or rent, including the window of an estate agent. Every rule with its source, checked on 3 October 2026. Not legal advice.
Updated
Quick answer
In Flanders every advert states the energy score or the EPC label, plus the full address or the unique code of the EPC. If a renovation obligation rests on the building, the advert says so too. Then come the P-score and the G-score for flooding and the planning details from the VCRO. Since 1 April 2026 the agent also consults the measures register.
EPC: score or label, address or code
Every advert or announcement for a sale or a rental states at least the energy score (in kWh/m²) or the EPC label (F to A+). It also gives the full address with house number, or the unique code of the EPC. For a non-residential unit with an EPC NR, both the energy score and the label (X to A) appear.
Whoever sells a building with a poor energy performance (label E or worse for a home, label F or worse for a non-residential building) also states in the advertising that a renovation obligation rests on the building.
The rule explicitly covers announcements in the windows of estate agents. Small "for sale/for rent" window posters without further information need no notice. The VEKA, the Flemish energy agency, runs spot checks. The fine is 750 to 5,000 euros for an agent or notary, and 500 to 5,000 euros for an owner.
Flooding: P-score and G-score
Since 1 January 2023 the P-score (plot) and the G-score (building) appear in the advertising for a sale or a long-term rental, including posters in the windows of estate agents. A score in class D also needs a flood symbol.
Planning: the VCRO notices
The Flemish Spatial Planning Code (VCRO, article 5.2.1 to 5.2.6) requires notices in deeds and advertising for the sale of real estate, a lease of more than nine years and a contribution to a company. They cover the planning permit, the zoning, a summons or restoration measure, the pre-emption right and the subdivision permit.
Abbreviations such as Vg (permit granted) are allowed in the written press. In an advert on the internet they are not. About a screen in the window the source says nothing.
omgeving.vlaanderen.be: abbreviations → · omgeving.vlaanderen.be: checks on property adverts →
The measures register since 1 April 2026
Since 1 April 2026 estate agents and notaries must consult the measures register for the sale of real estate or the advertising around it (Kaderdecreet Vlaamse Handhaving, article 83, §4 and §5). The register shows enforcement measures with a direct impact on a property. They must also inform prospective buyers about public restoration and safety measures that affect the property. According to Athumi, an agent may publish the register extract in full in a property advert, without addresses that do not belong to the property. We found no fixed wording for the advert from the government.
Note to the Flemish Government → · Athumi: questions about the measures register →
And a screen in the window?
The EPC rule and the flood rule name the window of an estate agent explicitly. A digital screen is not named separately in the sources. To be safe, show on the screen what a poster in the window must show.
Brussels and Wallonia
In Brussels the adverts and posters for a sale or a rental state the energy class of the home (A to G) and the energy performance in kWh/m²/year. Brussels Environment refers to its fact sheet on EPB in property adverts for all the rules.
In Wallonia every advert for a sale or a rental states the unique code of the PEB certificate, the total primary energy use in kWh per year, the specific primary energy use in kWh/m² per year and the energy class.
leefmilieu.brussels: EPB certificate → · energie.wallonie.be: PEB certificate →
Frequently asked questions
What must a property advert in Flanders state?
The energy score or the EPC label, the full address or the unique code of the EPC, the renovation obligation for a poor energy performance, the P-score and the G-score, and the planning notices from the VCRO.
Does that apply to the window too?
Yes. The EPC rule names announcements in the windows of estate agents, the flood rule names posters in the windows of estate agents. Small "for sale/for rent" window posters without further information need no EPC notice.
May I use VCRO abbreviations?
In the written press yes, in an advert on the internet no. About a screen in the window the government says nothing.
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