Rental Guarantee, automatic payment of utility bills
Rental Guarantee
It is common to pay up to two months deposit as a rental guarantee but this is handled in an unusual way in Belgium. Rather than paying cash to the landlord, the deposit is placed in a savings account, opened under the names of both tenant and landlord. Both signatures are needed in order to withdraw any money, so nobody can withdraw anything alone. This gives tenants more security that their deposit will be returned at the end of the tenancy agreement, provided everything is in order. Another advantage o is that you can also receive a small interest on the capital amount, which is tax-exempt.
You can open a Belgian bank account before you arrive and have your rental guarantee prepared in advance. This can make things faster when you find a property.
Automatic Payment Utility Bills
Once everything is set up, the easiest way to deal with payments of all household bills is to set up direct debits or standing orders. For this, you will need a Belgian bank account.