Key takeaways
- The SRL, with no minimum capital, protects your assets on an activity that is risky by nature: it is the form to favour.
- Since 1 July 2018, ten-year liability insurance is mandatory for the closed-shell structural works of housing (Peeters Act).
- Between professionals, VAT on immovable works is reverse-charged to the client: this is the cocontractant regime.
- Contractor accreditation only concerns public contracts; the private market is accessible without it.
Construction remains one of the pillars of the Belgian economy, but it is also one of the most regulated. Setting up a construction company in Belgium is not just about registering a company: the trade concentrates its own obligations, from the ten-year insurance made mandatory by the Peeters Act to the specific VAT regime between professionals, by way of accreditation for public contracts. A well-crafted business plan matters, but it is these sector rules that make the difference between a solid launch and a stalled site. Here is the full path, from the legal form to the obligations specific to building.
Choosing the legal form of your construction company
Building is a risky activity: site accidents, defects, disputes with clients, unpaid subcontractors. The first reflex is therefore to protect your personal assets by interposing a company.
The SRL (limited-liability company) is the most common form for a construction company. It limits the partners' liability to their contribution and no longer requires a legal minimum capital since the reform of the Code of Companies and Associations (CSA). In return, the founder must hand the notary a financial plan justifying sufficient starting resources. Operating as a natural person is still possible and lighter, but directly exposes your private property to the debts of the business, a risky bet in a sector where a single claim can be heavy.
Access to the profession and skills in construction
Belgium has substantially eased access to trades in recent years. Basic management knowledge, long required of every entrepreneur, is no longer required in any Region: Flanders abolished it on 1 September 2018, Brussels in January 2024 and Wallonia on 1 October 2025. The Flemish Region went further by also abolishing, on 1 January 2019, access to the profession for construction trades. In Wallonia and Brussels, by contrast, proof of professional skills is still required for several regulated building trades.
In concrete terms, if your activity falls under a regulated trade (structural work, joinery, electrotechnics, construction activities covered by the regional rules), you may have to prove specific professional competence when registering. The accredited business one-stop shop checks this point when registering with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises.
Ten-year insurance made mandatory by the Peeters Act
This is the sector's most structuring feature. Since 1 July 2018, the Act of 31 May 2017 (known as the Peeters Act) requires mandatory insurance of ten-year civil liability from contractors, but also from architects and other providers in the sector.
This obligation targets the closed-shell structural works on housing located in Belgium and whose works require the involvement of an architect. The closed structural shell covers the elements that ensure the solidity, stability and weathertightness of the building. The insurance covers ten-year liability, that is, the damage that compromises the solidity of the works for ten years after acceptance.
What the Peeters Act means for your company
Take out cover before the site
The contractor must be covered for ten-year liability before the relevant works begin.
Present an insurance certificate
A certificate proving the cover must be available to the client and the architect.
Target the closed shell of housing
The obligation targets the stability and weathertight shell of dwellings whose works require an architect.
Distinguish the other insurances
Ten-year cover replaces neither operating liability, nor statutory work-accident insurance if you employ staff.
Beyond this legally mandated insurance, a prudent contractor rounds out their cover: operating civil liability for damage caused to third parties during the works, all-risk site insurance, and insurance of vehicles and equipment. If you hire staff, statutory work-accident insurance is also mandatory.
VAT in construction: the cocontractant regime
Invoicing in building follows a rule of its own that often surprises new contractors. For immovable works carried out for a client who is themselves VAT-registered and files periodic returns, the contractor does not charge VAT on their invoice. It is the client who reverse-charges the tax in their own return: this is the cocontractant regime, based on article 20 of Royal Decree no. 1 of 29 December 1992.
| Professional client (taxable) | Private client | |
|---|---|---|
| VAT charged on the invoice | No (reverse charge) | Yes, by the contractor |
| Who pays the VAT to the State | The client | The contractor |
| Legal mention on the invoice | Reverse charge | VAT rate and amount |
| Applicable rate | Depending on the nature of the works | 6% or 21% depending on the case |
In concrete terms, an invoice addressed to a professional client shows no VAT amount but carries the legal reverse-charge mention. Conversely, for a private client, the contractor applies and remits the VAT themselves, at a reduced rate of 6% in certain cases of renovation of old housing, or at the standard rate of 21%. These rates and their conditions should be checked case by case with an accountant, as the favourable regimes are framed by strict conditions.
The steps to set up your construction company
Once the legal form is chosen and the specifics understood, incorporation follows the classic order of a Belgian company, supplemented by the obligations specific to building.
- 1
Draft the financial plan
A forecast of needs and resources over the first two financial years, mandatory for the SRL and handed to the notary.
- 2
Sign the incorporation deed at the notary
The notary authenticates the articles and the company acquires legal personality when the deed is filed with the registry.
- 3
Register with the CBE and for VAT
Through an accredited business one-stop shop, which assigns the enterprise number and checks access to the profession, then activation of VAT registration.
- 4
Take out ten-year insurance
Cover ten-year liability before any closed-shell structural works on housing, as the Peeters Act requires.
- 5
Check accreditation if public contracts
Apply for contractor accreditation if you target public works contracts above the thresholds set by the Act of 20 March 1991.
Contractor accreditation deserves a separate mention. It is not necessary for private works, but it conditions access to public works contracts above certain amounts. Governed by the Act of 20 March 1991, it is organised by categories and subcategories of works and by classes matching the contract amount. A young company can therefore start calmly on the private market, then apply for accreditation when it targets public procurement.
Your company's registered office must be declared to the CBE. Many building craftspeople prefer a professional address distinct from their private home: our SRL formation service handles the incorporation and the registered office in parallel, and our business address solution establishes a separate administrative address.
Launch your construction company on solid foundations
Formation of the SRL, financial plan and registered office, supported end to end so you can focus on your sites.
Going further
- Setting up an SRL in Belgium: the essential steps, the go-to form to protect your assets.
- Legal forms in Belgium: comparison and guide to choosing.
- Setting up a transport company in Belgium, another heavily regulated sector trade.
