Bathroom renovation cost in Belgium: what to budget in 2026

A mid-range bathroom of 8 to 9 m², the Belgian average size, costs €9,000 to €15,000 according to a February 2026 article by bathroom retailer X²O on the Belgian building platform Bouwinfo. That price covers materials and basic fitting on the existing pipes. Add demolition and new pipework and a full renovation comes to €10,500 to €19,000, or roughly €1,170 to €2,380 per m².

If you have moved to Belgium recently, three things work differently from what you may be used to: the VAT rate on renovation, the way contractors quote, and the regional grants, which have mostly disappeared for bathrooms. This guide covers all three, with sector prices and a worked example for a typical Ghent bathroom.

What does a bathroom renovation cost by size?

There is no official price list. The most useful public figures come from X²O on Bouwinfo and from the bank KBC, which uses data from the renovation platform Setle. Both are commercial sources.

These prices include VAT at the renovation rate, materials and basic fitting. Not included, according to the same article:

KBC puts a modest bathroom renovation at €5,573 to €7,651 and a luxury one at €19,428 to €27,653, demolition included (February 2025). KBC does not say whether VAT is included and gives no floor area.

What does it cost per square metre?

A price per m² is a rough measure for a bathroom, because most of the money goes on items counted per piece: a shower, a toilet, a basin, the drain, the wiring. They cost almost the same in four square metres as in nine. Worked out from the X²O figures for a mid-range bathroom of 8 to 9 m²:

A small bathroom costs more per m², for the same reason.

Worked example: a Ghent bathroom of six to eight square metres

Take a bathroom of 6 to 8 m² upstairs in a Ghent terraced house. There is an old bath, a basin and a toilet; the tiles come off and the drain moves. A six square metre room falls in the X²O class of 4 to 6 m², an eight square metre room in the class of 8 to 9 m². For each class, add the guide price, demolition and pipework:

So a mid-range bathroom of 6 to 8 m² comes to €6,500 to €19,000 before ventilation, underfloor heating and the 10 to 20 per cent contingency X²O recommends. In older Ghent houses that contingency is not optional: behind old tiles there is often damp, or a pipe that has reached the end of its life.

For a first indication with your own measurements, use the cost calculator. A real price follows a site visit.

Where does the money go?

KBC breaks its estimate down by item. The big jump between a modest and a luxury bathroom is in the fittings and finishes, not the labour.

X²O gives ranges per item: a shower €350 to €2,000, a toilet €90 to €3,000, a basin €80 to €2,000, a vanity unit €200 to €5,000, plus fitting at €200 to €800 per item.

How does VAT work on a bathroom renovation?

This is the rule that surprises most newcomers. Renovation of a home that is older than 10 years is charged at 6% VAT instead of the standard 21%. The official list of the Federal Public Service Finance names sanitary fittings connected to the water supply or sewer, fixed made-to-measure bathroom cabinets, fixed bathroom fans and tiles cut to size on site.

The conditions:

• The home is older than 10 years, counted from first occupation to the first invoice.
• After the works it is used as a private home for more than 50 per cent.
• The contractor supplies the materials and invoices them together with the work, directly to you as the end user. You can be the owner, a tenant or a usufructuary.
• Fittings you buy yourself in a shop are charged at 21%.

That last point changes how to shop. In Belgium it often pays to let the contractor supply the shower, toilet and tiles, even if you choose them yourself in a showroom.

Are there grants for a bathroom in Flanders?

Less than many websites suggest. The Flemish renovation grant, Mijn VerbouwPremie, dropped interior renovation on 1 July 2025. Since 1 March 2026, households in income categories 1 and 2, the higher incomes, only get support for a heat pump or a heat pump water heater.

What is left:

• Pipes, drains and electrics. Owner-occupiers in income categories 3 and 4 can claim 35 per cent, up to €2,100 in category 3 or 50 per cent, up to €3,000 in category 4 of the invoice excluding VAT for new sanitary pipes and drains, the electrical installation and the demolition needed to lay them. The invoice must be at least €1,000, and up to €6,000 counts. The home must have been connected to the grid before 1 January 2006. Showers, toilets, tiles and furniture do not count.
• Adapting a bathroom for an older resident. If the applicant, a partner or a family member living in the home is at least 65, the Flemish adaptation grant (aanpassingspremie) pays 50 per cent of an adapted shower, toilet or grab rails, up to €1,250 per category, within income limits.
• Free advice in Ghent. Huis+, the city's renovation service, offers a free renovation coach who also helps with grant applications. The service works in Dutch.

Grants are claimed within 2 years of the last invoice, through the online Mijn VerbouwLoket.

Useful Dutch terms on a quote

How long does it take?

SN Group plans 3 to 5 weeks for a renovation where everything is stripped and the pipes are renewed, and 5 to 8 weeks when walls move or underfloor heating is added. A refresh without new pipes takes 1 to 2 weeks. The bathroom is out of use during that time.

What is the next step?

Get a first indication from the cost calculator, then ask for a free site visit and a no-obligation quote through the bathroom page. Planning a kitchen as well? Read the guide to kitchen renovation costs in Belgium.