Fees and ancillary costs

This is the most structuring Belgian feature for a budget. Appointing an architect is mandatory for works requiring consent.

Appointing an architect is mandatory for works requiring consent. The appointment covers design but also supervision of execution.

That obligation persists under turnkey arrangements. The architect must retain independence from the contractor, which precludes simply being employed by the builder. A client signing a turnkey contract must therefore check how that requirement is satisfied.

This is a point to clarify before signing, because it determines whether fees are included in the quoted price or added to it. The answer changes how any quoted price per m² is read.

A fiscal divergence that distorts many funding plans. Fees are paid before the works begin.

Intellectual services fall in principle under the standard VAT rate, even where they prepare works qualifying for the reduced rate. This applies to architect, engineer and surveyor, and the exception is rare.

In practice, on a qualifying refurbishment project the contractor invoices at the reduced rate and the architect at the standard rate. A budget applying a single rate throughout is wrong.

Depending on the nature of the project, four other parties may be required. Each of them invoices separately and on its own scale.

The energy performance officer. They prepare the declarations and calculations required by the region, and their involvement is required on most new build projects and on major refurbishments.

The structural engineer. Mandatory in practice as soon as the structure is out of the ordinary, and required by the architect on most projects.

The safety and health coordinator. Required as soon as several contractors work on the same site, with distinct duties at design and construction stages.

Technical control. Not systematic, but frequently required by insurers or funders on schemes of a certain size.

A regime many clients discover late.

The Act of 31 May 2017 requires contractors and architects to insure their ten-year liability for works relating to housing.

Two practical consequences.

The cost of that cover is built into the prices charged, so it does not appear as a separate budget item but is nonetheless borne.

Verification falls to the client. Requesting a valid insurance certificate before work starts is an elementary reflex, and its absence is a serious signal.

Ten-year liability covers defects affecting stability or weathertightness, for ten years from practical completion. The insurance obligation rests on the parties and is checked before the works.

Party	When required	Regime
Architect	Works requiring consent	Mandatory, design and control of execution
Structural engineer	Non-standard structure, underpinning, basement	Depending on the project
Energy performance officer	New build and major refurbishment	Depending on region and extent of works
Safety and health coordinator	More than one contractor on site	Mandatory in that case
Technical control body	Required by insurer or financier	Depending on the operation

Three families sit alongside fees proper. They concern studies, taxes and connections.

Preliminary studies. Ground investigation, topographical survey, pre-demolition surveys. They determine the quality of the estimate and their cost is modest against the risks they remove.

Taxes and charges. These belong to the municipal level and vary between municipalities within a single region.

Connection charges. Technically works, but invoiced by third parties under their own tariffs.

A time limit with financial consequences. Applications to the utilities are filed as soon as consent is granted.

At practical completion, reservations and disputes must be notified in writing within a short period, in the order of a month. Beyond that, acceptance may be presumed, which considerably weakens the client's position.

That period is one of the few points where a few days' inattention genuinely costs.

Four rules.

Budget the architect as a mandatory item, including under turnkey arrangements, and check whether it is included in the quoted price.

Apply the standard rate to fees in the funding plan, independently of the rate on the works.

List the parties the project requires before pricing, since they depend on the brief and the region.

Request insurance certificates before work starts, not after a defect.