A building project commits money before the work exists: a deposit on signature, interim payments, sometimes most of the invoice before handover. If the contractor stops halfway, the deposit is rarely recovered and the site stays open. Whether you own a home in Belgium, are renovating after a move, or manage a property from abroad, the contractor's public filings are your first check: in Belgium, a company publishes a lot about itself, and all of it can be searched for free. Here is what to look at, in order, and where to find it.
Step by step: where to look, what to read
The enterprise number, and what it reveals
Everything starts from the enterprise number (ten digits, on the quote, the invoice or the website) — the Belgian counterpart of a Companies House, KvK or SIREN number. It leads you to the exact entity in the register. Three checks:
- Does the name match the quote? A trade name is not a company. The quote must carry the number of the company that will invoice you — not another entity of the same group, nor a sole trader if you thought you were dealing with a BV/SRL (the Belgian private limited company).
- Since when has it existed? A two-year-old company is not suspicious in itself, but it has no history of accounts yet; you judge it differently.
- Its legal status. Liquidation, judicial reorganisation, bankruptcy: shown in the register. That is a reason to stop, not to negotiate.
For building work, also look at the registered activities (NACE codes): a company registered for "plastering" that offers you a complete roof will probably subcontract.
The annual accounts: three figures to start with
Every Belgian company files annual accounts; SMEs file an abbreviated or micro format, without turnover — that is normal. Three lines tell the essentials:
Finally, look at the filing date. Accounts are filed within seven months of the year-end. A delay of a few weeks is common; accounts missing for more than a year are a signal in themselves.
The Belgian Official Gazette: what happened recently
Incorporation, change of manager, transfer of the registered office, dissolution, court rulings: everything is published, in French, Dutch or German depending on where the company is based. Before a building project, what deserves attention: a recent office transfer followed by a change of manager, a dissolution or a judicial reorganisation, or publications that stop abruptly for years while the company is still active.
Professional qualifications and insurance
For electrical work, heating, roofing, structural work: ask for the civil liability insurance certificate and, for works on a home that require an architect, the ten-year liability insurance, compulsory in Belgium since 2018. A serious contractor sends them within the hour. It is not financial data, but it is the guarantee that protects you if things go wrong after handover.
Before signing the quote
- The enterprise number on the quote belongs to an active company in the register.
- Its equity is positive in the latest filed accounts.
- Its accounts are up to date (filed less than a year ago).
- Nothing worrying in the Official Gazette over the last 24 months (dissolution, procedure, frequent change of managers).
- Liability and ten-year insurance certificates received.
- Deposit in proportion, balance in stages against a signed progress statement.