Do you need a planning permit for your renovation?

On 1 March 2026 a new Flemish exemptions decree came into force. Interior alterations stay exempt as long as the use and the number of homes stay the same. Work on facades and roofs is exempt as long as the energy performance does not get worse and the volume stays the same, and that now applies to all facades, the front included. External insulation may be up to 26 cm thick, as long as it does not cross the building line. An outdoor heat pump may sit up to 2 m from the plot boundary, now also on the front facade and on a flat roof. A detached outbuilding or carport is exempt up to 40 m² in total, a terrace in the side or back garden up to 80 m².

The decree does not name windows literally. That replacing windows is exempt follows from the exemption for work on facades: the same opening, no worse energy performance, no other volume. That is a reading of the text, not a word-for-word rule. In world heritage and on buildings in the adopted inventory of architectural heritage the facade exemption does not apply. Making or changing a window opening needs no architect as long as the structure does not change.

Since 5 September 2026 an exemption for work that touches the structure only applies if an architect designs and supervises it, inside as well as on the facade or roof. No architect is needed for interior work that leaves the structure alone, for facade cladding and window openings, for a dormer up to 25% of the roof area, and for a garden shed, carport or conservatory up to 40 m² with eaves up to 3 m and a ridge up to 4.5 m.

A conservatory against the house used to need a notification and has needed a permit since 1 March 2026; the notification procedure has gone except for two acts on asylum reception. A change of use, an extra home, a change of volume and any work on protected heritage need a permit. In Ghent, splitting a house always needs a permit, and a house smaller than 220 m² may not be split.

In the simplified procedure the municipality decides within 60 days, without a public inquiry. In the regular procedure it is 105 days, or 120 with the permit committee, with a public inquiry of 30 days; an extension of 60 days is possible. You appeal to the provincial deputation within 30 days. Since 1 March 2026 a municipality can only add obligations from a limited list; older municipal rules lapse on 6 February 2028. When in doubt, check with the building desk (Balie Bouwen) of your municipality.