Two people who live together and make a declaration of legal cohabitation before the registrar of births, marriages and deaths in their municipality are legally cohabiting. The registration gives a certain legal protection in terms of ownership of property, the family home and division of family burdens.
Public cible
- Burger
Conditions
Two people sharing a home in Belgium can legally live together. This does not only apply to partners. You can also legally cohabit with family members such as a brother or sister, a parent or a child, or with someone else with whom you do not have a sexual relationship.
You can only sign a declaration of legal cohabitation if you:
- are legally competent to enter into a contract
- are not married
- are not legally cohabiting with someone else.
Proof
- the identity cards of both partners or domestic partners.
If you are registered in the population register or foreigners' register, the registrar will check your civil status in the National Register.
If you are not registered or your civil status is not known, you must prove your civil status yourself using one of the following documents (maximum 6 months old):
- a certificate of unmarried status
- an extract from the divorce certificate if you are divorced
- an extract of the death certificate if you are a widow or widower.
Procedure
Procedure
You and your partner or housemate file the declaration of legal cohabitation with the registrar of births, marriages and deaths. The declaration contains the following information:
- date of the declaration
- surname, given names, place of birth, date of birth and signature of both parties
- joint domicile
- indication of the will of both parties to legally cohabitate
- indication that both parties have prior knowledge of articles 1475 to 1479 of the Civil Code governing the status of legal cohabitation
- reference to any cohabitation contract drawn up beforehand by a notary.
Legal cohabitation can be terminated in the following ways:
- by mutual agreement by both parties
- unilaterally by one of the parties via a written declaration issued at the Municipal Civil Registry Office
- by marriage
- by the death of one of the partners.
In the case of unilateral termination: the party who unilaterally terminates the legal cohabitation must have the termination served on the other party by a judicial officer at their own expense. As long as the service has not been effected, the legal cohabitation remains in place.