On 15 December 2023, we published a newsletter in which we pointed out that the Royal Decree of 29 January 2007 (relating to professional competence for the exercise of self-employed activities in the construction and electrical engineering trades, as well as general contracting) had been repealed for the Flemish Region by a Flemish government decree of 19 October 2018. As a result, in Flanders, contractors are no longer required to hold a certificate relating to their professional competence in order to carry out structural work. If interpreted as meaning that a company based in Flanders no longer needs to prove its professional competence even to work in another Region, this repeal on the Flemish side of the country leads to a significant difference in treatment between contractors. The vagueness surrounding the application of these rules creates considerable legal uncertainty and prevents effective protection for consumers and building owners, who have to deal with contractors who have established their headquarters in Flanders so as not to be subject to any conditions of access to the profession.
This article is available in Dutch and French.