71% of dwellings built in the 1980s are owner-occupied
Share of owner-occupiers per construction year
In 2021, 64.5% of conventional dwellings in Belgium were occupied by their owner, according to the figures from the census 2021. This is a slight decrease compared to 2011, when it was still 65.6%. However, this figure depends on the construction year of the dwelling. Dwellings built in the 1980s and 1990s appear to be mostly owner-occupied. In 2021, 71.1% of conventional dwellings built in the period 1981-1990 were occupied by their owner. Then comes the period 1991-2000 with 70.6%. At the bottom of the ranking, the period before the end of World War I dangles in penultimate place with 59.4%. The most recent dwellings built since the previous census (period 2011-2020) are the least owner-occupied: 57.2%. So the least owner-occupied homes are found in the oldest and newest dwellings. Moreover, we notice a strong downward trend among newer dwellings: from 70.6% for dwellings built in 1991-2000, to 65.9% in the years 2001-2010 to barely 57.2% in the last decade.
Differences from the previous census especially for more recent dwellings
In the 2011 census, we also see that most owner-occupiers are concentrated in dwellings of the 1980s and 1990s with 70.9% and 71.2% respectively. Here, the ranking is reversed compared to 2021 and the period 1991-2000 comes first with 1981-1990 following, although the difference is very small. In 2011, dwellings built before 1919 were the least owner-occupied: 60.3%.
For the various years of construction, the difference in the number of owner-occupied dwellings is relatively small between 2021 and 2011, with the exception of the period 2001-2010, where there is a decrease of 3.5%. The number of recently built dwellings that are owner-occupied has fallen sharply over the last decade.
There is therefore a dual trend: on the one hand, the percentage of owner-occupiers is lower for recently built dwellings (low percentage of owner-occupiers for dwellings built between the two censuses). On the other hand, there has been a decline in the number of owner-occupiers for recently built dwellings (a decrease between the 2011 and 2021 censuses for dwellings built between 2001 and 2010).
Geographical differences
The proportion of owner-occupiers varies greatly between the Brussels-Capital Region and the rest of the country. According to the 2021 census, in the Flemish Region, 69.8% of conventional dwellings are owner-occupied. This figure is 63.8% in the Walloon Region and 38.1% in the Brussels-Capital Region. The differences with the 2011 census are relatively small, with 70.7% for the Flemish Region, 65.6% for the Walloon Region and 38% for the Brussels-Capital Region. There was a slight decrease in the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region. The percentage in the Brussels-Capital Region rose very slightly (virtually unchanged).
The construction years with the highest number of owner-occupied dwellings varies geographically. According to the 2021 census, in the Brussels-Capital Region, it is the 1960s, with 46.2% of dwellings occupied by their owner. For the Flemish Region, it is the 1980s with 75% and for the Walloon Region the 1990s with 74.5%.
According to the census carried out 10 years ago, in 2011, the Flemish and Walloon Regions have the same construction periods with the highest proportion of owner-occupiers. For the Flemish Region, it is the 1980s with 74.7% and for the Walloon Region the 1990s with 75.2%. However, there is a difference for the Brussels-Capital Region, with the highest concentration of owner-occupiers for the 2001-2010 construction period: 48%. This difference can be explained by the sharp fall in the number of owner-occupiers in more recently built dwellings between 2011 and 2021.
In the major cities outside Brussels, we have the highest number of owner-occupiers in dwellings built between the wars (1919-1945 construction period) in Antwerp (63.5% in 2021, 60.2% in 2011), Ghent (63% in 2021, 58.4% in 2011) and Charleroi (66.2% in 2021, 65.8% in 2011). For Liège, we have the highest number of owner-occupiers in dwellings built in the 1990s (61.6% in 2021, 66.8% in 2011).
Proportion of owner-occupiers by building type
Houses are more often owner-occupied than apartments. According to the 2021 census, 82.1% of occupied houses are owner-occupied. This figure is only 30.6% for apartments. This is the case for all regions. In the Brussels-Capital Region, 76.9% of houses are owner-occupied. The figure for apartments is 31.6%. In the Flemish Region, the figures are 84.5% and 34.2% respectively, and 78.4% and 22.4% in the Walloon Region.
If we compare these figures with the 2011 census, we see in Belgium and the three regions a decrease in the number of owner-occupied apartments and an increase in the number of owner-occupied houses. The biggest increase, of no less than 4.3%, concerns the proportion of owner-occupied houses in the Brussels-Capital Region.
This indicator shows the share of owner-occupied dwellings in all occupied conventional dwellings.
The Brussels-Capital Region stands out from the other regions with only 38% of owner-occupied dwellings, compared to 64% in Wallonia and 70% in Flanders, figures that remain stable compared to 2011. However, there are significant variations among the municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region. So, in Saint-Gilles and Ixelles, only one dwelling in four is occupied by its owner compared to one in two in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. The share of owner-occupied dwellings in all occupied conventional dwellings is relatively homogeneous in the Flemish provinces. It is more nuanced in Wallonia where some areas with high percentages are found in each province. So, for example, this share amounts to 83% in Mont-de-l’Enclus in the province of Hainaut, 81% in La Bruyère in the province of Namur, 84% in Burdinne and Nandrin in the province of Liège, 82% in Ramillies in the province of Walloon Brabant or 82% in Musson in the province of Luxembourg.
The Census 2021 in a nutshell
The Census 2021 is a snapshot of the population living in Belgium on 1 January 2021. It provides a wide range of figures on housing and demographic, socio-economic and educational characteristics of the citizens. The objective of the Census is twofold: to comply with the European regulation[1] and to produce statistics to address national specific needs (public services, international organizations, researchers, enterprises and private individuals).
Previously based on an exhaustive survey of all citizens, since 2011 the Census has been based exclusively on the use of administrative databases.
Definitions
The various statistical units
Population
The population taken into account for the Census 2021 is the residential population, as registered in the National Register of Natural Persons (RNPP) on 1 January 2021. The Belgian population includes Belgians and non-Belgians who have been allowed or authorised to settle or to stay in Belgium but does not include non-Belgians living on the territory for less than three months, asylum seekers and non-Belgians in an illegal situation[2].
Private households
This group includes people living alone in a dwelling and groups of several people living in the same dwelling and providing themselves with essentials for living.
Family nuclei
A family nucleus is defined as two or more persons who belong to the same household and who are related as husband and wife, as partners in a registered partnership, as partners in a consensual union, or as parent and child.
Living quarters
Living quarters refer to all quarters used as the usual residence of one or several persons.
Conventional dwellings
Conventional dwellings are separate units (surrounded by walls and covered by a roof) that are independent (with a direct access from the street or a staircase, passage) and designed to be used as a permanent dwelling.
Occupied conventional dwellings
Occupied conventional dwellings are conventional dwellings used as the usual residence of one or several private households.
Variables and their description
Sex
This variable is used to distinguish men from women.
Age
The age reached in completed years of age on 1 January 2021.
Place of usual residence
The place of residence is that registered in the National Register on 1 January 2021. So this is the place of legal residence.
The Belgian municipalities have changed between 2011 and 2021. In the comparisons shown on this website, the figures for 2011 are broken down according to the municipalities of 2021.
Locality
A locality is defined as a distinct population cluster, that is an area defined by population living in neighbouring or contiguous buildings. This area constitutes a group of buildings, none of which is separated from its nearest neighbour by more than 200 meters.
The Belgian municipalities have changed between 2011 and 2021. In the comparisons shown on this website, the figures for 2011 are broken down according to the municipalities of 2021.
Type of ownership
This variable refers to the ownership of the dwelling and not to that of the land on which the dwelling stands.
Remark
The comparison with the previous Census requires some caution: this publication is based on the Belgian population and the Census 2011 has as reference the European definition of the population.
Information on the difference between the Belgian population and the Census 2011 population.
[1] COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2017/543 of 22 March 2017 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 763/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on population and housing censuses as regards the technical specifications of the topics and of their breakdowns.
[2]Information on the difference between the Belgian population and the Census 2011 population.