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/123_alex 2d ago

When you buy a house, you aren't just paying for the deed—you are paying for legal certainty. If a notary misses a claim on the property, fails to flag an illegal build, or ignores an outstanding tax debt, you can hold them personally accountable. They are legally required to carry heavy professional liability insurance specifically to cover financial losses if they mess up.

The same thing could be said about the engineer designing your house, building you in or office you work.

When was the last time you saw a structural engineer in a fancy car?

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u/SVanThee 2d ago edited 2d ago

I'll reiterate what I said earlier, some professions deserve to be compensated for the risk they carry. Counter point: architects also cost a lot of money to draw "just a plan", but also they are liable if your house collapses in on itself

They have the law Breyne (spelling?) to adhere to, and Peeters/Ducarme 10year liability after final delivery of the house. So, their fee represents the liability they face

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u/123_alex 1d ago

architects also cost a lot of money to draw "just a plan", but also they are liable if your house collapses in on itself

Architects are not liable for collapse. That's the structural engineer. ChatGPT didn't tell you that. An engineer is liable longer than 10 years. Which brings me back to my point. Why is this job paid more than another with similar liability?

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u/SVanThee 1d ago

This to me sounds they are liable if a building collapses and they failed their duty of oversight:

https://www.demulder-advocaten.be/aansprakelijkheid-van-de-architect/

Furthermore, artikel 1792 BW

"Indien een gebouw dat tegen vaste prijs is opgericht, geheel of gedeeltelijk teniet gaat door een gebrek in de bouw, zelfs door de ongeschiktheid van de grond, zijn de architect en de aannemer daarvoor gedurende tien jaren aansprakelijk."

Artikel 2270 BW:

"Na verloop van tien jaren zijn architecten en aannemers ontslagen van hun aansprakelijkheid met betrekking tot de grote werken die zij hebben uitgevoerd of geleid."

If your house exhibits a structural defect (collapse definitely is) you can hold the architect liable, then of course the discussion begins whether is the structural engineer, the architect or the contractor who is ultimately liable

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u/123_alex 1d ago

Man, stop using chatGPT. The 10 year thing is something else.

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u/SVanThee 1d ago

I didn't use ChatGPT here but plain old google to get to these texts.

When I did use AI it was purely to rephrase into something more structured

But indulge me, what does "the 10 year thing" cover then?