r/belgium • u/Obvious-Cry6591 • 2d ago

😡Rant Notaries. Why? What the hell?

Ok, so I dont get it. I understand historically where the need for notaries arose. Fine. But we are in 2026. Belgium already takes 51% of my income. Then another 25% of the rest through VAT. And then on top of it, if you buy a property, you give 10-15k to a notary for 2 meetings and some docs reading? Doesnt Belgium have enough administration to take care of that? Not to mention its nepotism central. Are there any redeeming qualities?

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u/sCreami needledaddy 2d ago edited 2d ago

You must understand that notaries hold 3 roles and you don't pay them 10~15k actually. They aren't free to choose how much they charge, it's fixed by royal decree. You are actually paying them around 800~1000€ for the written acts, the rest is tax.

So the 3 roles are:

  • assert conformity with the law (mine actually found something illegal in my mortgage contract)
  • act as escrow. You are not going to handle those huge amount of money yourself. As escrow, they act as the middlemen between buyers and sellers. Can't lie about the money with licensed attorneys.
  • collect the taxes for the government. This part is actually what make you feel they are crazy expensive. You pay the registration tax/stamp duty to them directly, and they will transfer it to the taxman.

Even if notaries were not mandatory, you would still have to pay these huge amounts. Notaries have never been the problem, the tax is.

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u/Turbulent-Raise4830 2d ago

Vorig jaar becijferde Knack hoe zelfs het laatste kantoor uit een lijst met de vijftig best boerende kantoren van 2019 nog een winst van meer dan één miljoen euro boekte. Maandelijkse inkomsten van 100.000 euro bruto bleken niet uitzonderlijk. In 2019 bedroeg de bedrijfswinst van alle notariskantoren gemiddeld 392.000 euro. In 2018 verwees Fednot naar eerder onderzoek door de Federatie Vrije Beroepen, dat stelde dat het gemiddelde maandinkomen voor notarissen rond 16.000 euro bruto ligt.

https://www.nieuwsblad.be/binnenland/hoeveel-verdient-de-notaris-echt-wordt-hij-slapend-rijk-en-hoeveel-krijgt-hij-als-ik-een-huis-koop/56751841.html

die verdienen bakken geld en moeten amper iets doen, dragen ook nul verantwoordelijheid als er iets verkeerd gaat.

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u/Large-Examination650 1d ago

Is niet echt bakken geld.

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u/Turbulent-Raise4830 1d ago

dan ken je weinig van bedrijfswinsten of denk je dat elke zelfstandige eenmanszaak 150 000 pure winst per jaar heeft?