Obtaining the necessary authorisations

Urban planning and environmental permits: your company must meet the requirements of the legislation in effect. What are the legal obligations you must meet? Who should you contact? Here are few tips to make things easier.

Urban planning permits

To summarise the concept of the Code Bruxellois de l’Aménagement du Territoire (Brussels Town and Country Planning Code), here are the conditions for which you will be required to have an urban planning permit:

• Works and construction, renovation and fitting out of interiors affecting the supporting or exterior structures (chimneys, canopies, shutters, façade painting, etc.).
• Changes in use (for example, a retail shop transformed into a snack bar) or in destination (a workshop transformed into a retail outlet).

Permit waivers are, however, sometimes available, notably for “minimally important” works.

In the case of a retail space to sell pralines, a permit to change the use of the premises isn't required if they already housed a business covered by a “retail” urban planning permit.

Urban planning permit: the urban planning permit is valid for the building only and not for the retailer. It is valid ad vitam aeternam, except in certain cases like shops (nine years maximum).

It is therefore essential to:

• Check if the building’s urban planning permit can be used as is.
• Give thought to the changes to be made.
• Take the establishment’s “liabilities”, i.e. any inherited urban planning issues, into account.

Good to know: Changes such as the placement of a sign, an awning or the installation of a workshop may require an urban planning permit.

Except in special cases, permits are issued by the municipality. For more information, see the urbanisme.brussels website which details all of the procedures and the links to the websites of each municipality. A free practical guide was also published by Bruxelles Développement Urbain in 2016. Note, however, that some related legislation was changed in April 2019.

In addition, don’t forget the these procedures can take time:

• File preparation can take over a month (plan creation, identification of issues, etc.).
• Once the file has been submitted, the municipality has 30 days to check it for completeness (return receipt showing that the file is complete or containing a list of missing documents).
• Once the file is complete, the time-frames will vary depending on the type of request (from 45 to 120 days depending on the complexity of the procedure).

Good to know: It is preferable to select premises which already have the right urban planning permit for the business!

Environmental permit

A simple praline shop doesn’t normally require an environmental permit unless it has an air conditioning or refrigeration unit of a certain size. A prior environmental statement will be required. On the other hand, adding a workshop will require a class 2 or 1B¹ permit.

Environmental permit: Nearly all businesses need an environmental permit, including chocolate-making workshops.  The Order of 5 June 1997 lists activities, equipment and products based on the impact they can have on the environment and the neighbourhood. The installations (about 200) are then subject to a permit or a declaration. There are several categories: from the least dangerous (category 3) to the most dangerous (category 1A). Note that the environmental permit is applicable to both the product and the operator, generally for a period of 15 years (maximum duration).

Depending on the case, permits are issued by the municipality or by Bruxelles Environnement which can be contacted for information. It can also be helpful to consult the administrative guide put online by Bruxelles Environnement.

Time-frames vary depending on the permit category and are included in the “administrative guide”. In conclusion, it takes about 20 days for a simple declaration (category 3) and about 60 days between the time the complete file is submitted (file preparation can take several weeks to put together the documents required) and the delivery of a category permit.

In addition, fees vary depending on the permit category requested and the municipality.

hub.brussels has a specialised unit which you can contact at permit@hub.brussels 

⁽¹⁾ Contact information list for classified facilities: http://app.bruxellesenvironnement.be/listes/?nr_list=IC_LIST