{"id":663,"date":"2026-10-25T13:45:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T12:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/case-law\/judgment-antwerp-2020\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T10:18:32","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T09:18:32","slug":"judgment-antwerp-2020","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-antwerp-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Judgment on appeal: court of first instance of Antwerp, 5 October 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-artikelkop bb-artikelkop--beeld\" id=\"artikelkop\" data-bg=\"primary\" style=\"--bb-ak-img:url(https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-antwerpen.webp)\"><div class=\"bb-container bb-artikelkop__inhoud\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">CASE LAW \u00b7 COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE<\/p><h1>Judgment on appeal: court of first instance of Antwerp, 5 October 2020<\/h1><p class=\"bb-artikelkop__meta\">Court of first instance (rechtbank van eerste aanleg) of Antwerp, civil division \u00b7 judgment on appeal of 5 October 2020<\/p><div class=\"bb-artikelkop__kort\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">In brief<\/p><\/p>\n<p>On appeal, the court of first instance (rechtbank van eerste aanleg) of Antwerp confirmed that concealing real estate abroad is a serious breach of the rules on social renting. The tenants had to repay EUR 13,210.07 in wrongly received benefit. The reliance on the right to privacy was rejected.<\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><\/section><nav class=\"bb-breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><ol><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/\">Home<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/\">Case law<\/a><\/li><li><span aria-current=\"page\">Judgment on appeal: court of first instance of Antwerp, 5 October 2020<\/span><\/li><\/ol><\/div><\/nav><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-kolommen\" id=\"inhoud\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><div class=\"bb-kolommen__grid\"><div class=\"bb-kolom bb-kolom--hoofd\"><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"de-zaak\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The case<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><\/p>\n<p>A housing company (woonmaatschappij) had had an investigation carried out into whether a number of social tenants owned real estate abroad. The investigation showed that a considerable number of plots of land and apartments were registered wholly or partly in the name of one of the tenants.<\/p>\n<p>At first instance, the justice of the peace (vrederechter) had ruled in favour of the housing company. The tenants appealed against that judgment to the court of first instance of Antwerp.<\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"de-verweren\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The defences on appeal<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><\/p>\n<p>The tenants disputed the claim, relying on certain documents and on their right to privacy. The court rejected these defences. It ruled that concealing real estate abroad constitutes a serious breach of the rules on social renting, and that the tenants had as a result received social advantages for years to which they were not entitled.<\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"het-oordeel\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The decision<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><\/p>\n<p>The judgment of 5 October 2020 contains three decisions:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>confirmation that the tenants had unduly obtained social advantages;<\/li>\n<li>the obligation to repay the wrongly received benefit of EUR 13,210.07 to the housing company;<\/li>\n<li>the dismissal of the additional claim for the costs of the investigation report and its translation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"betekenis\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>What this means for your case file<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><\/p>\n<p>This judgment is significant because it was given on appeal. The line taken by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-hamme-2019\/\">justice of the peace in Hamme<\/a> was thereby confirmed by a higher court: in this case, the court took the evidence from a foreign property investigation into account and the recovery of the social rent reduction was granted. Each ruling relates to a specific case file and offers no guarantee for the outcome of another case.<\/p>\n<p>Note the third point. Unlike in Hamme, the court here did not award the costs of the report and the translation. Whether the investigation costs can be recovered from the tenant therefore depends on the court and on the way in which the claim has been built up. We advise always claiming the investigation costs separately and with substantiation, and submitting the report with a (sworn) translation. How we support this is explained under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/services\/recovery-and-seizure\/\">recovery and seizure<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: judgment on appeal of the court of first instance of Antwerp, civil division, of 5 October 2020, served on 9 November 2020 (copy in our file); <a href=\"https:\/\/businessam.be\/huisvestingsmaatschappijen-mogen-onderzoeksbureaus-inschakelen-om-na-te-gaan-of-sociale-huurders-bezit-hebben-in-het-buitenland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Business AM, 11 December 2020<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vrt.be\/vrtnws\/nl\/2020\/12\/10\/vlaamse-regering-trekt-5-miljoen-uit-voor-vermogensonderzoek-van\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">VRT NWS, 10 December 2020<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><\/section><\/div><div class=\"bb-kolom bb-kolom--zij\"><aside class=\"bb-kaart bb-ihk\" id=\"in-het-kort\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">Overview<\/p><h2 class=\"bb-ihk__kop\">In brief<\/h2><dl class=\"bb-ihk__lijst\"><div><dt>Lead time<\/dt><dd>usually 1\u20132 weeks<\/dd><\/div><\/dl><p class=\"bb-ihk__knop\"><a class=\"bb-knop\" href=\"\/en\/request-a-pre-check\/\">Request a pre-check<\/a><\/p><ul class=\"bb-ihk__trust\"><li><span class=\"bb-icoon material-symbols-outlined\" aria-hidden=\"true\">check_circle<\/span><span>Carried out in accordance with the GDPR<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--panel bb-kaarten bb-kaarten--kb\" id=\"gerelateerd\" data-bg=\"panel\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>More case law<\/h2><div class=\"bb-grid-3\"><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/jurisprudentie-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Case law\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Case law<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">Case law on foreign real estate owned by social tenants: Hamme 2019, Antwerp 2020, Woonhaven, Constitutional Court 2024 and Cassation 2026.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-hamme-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Ruling of the justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Ruling of the justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">Justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019: a social tenant with concealed property in T\u00fcrkiye repays the undue benefit and investigation costs.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-hamme-2019\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-woonhaven-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Where social fraud is suspected, an investigation into foreign property is mandatory\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Where social fraud is suspected, an investigation into foreign property is mandatory<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">The Antwerp justice of the peace ruled for Woonhaven: a housing company is not only permitted to check whether a tenant owns property abroad, it must.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-woonhaven\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-cta bb-cta--beeld\" id=\"cta\" data-bg=\"primary\" style=\"--bb-cta-img:url(https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/cta-band.webp)\"><div class=\"bb-container bb-cta__inhoud\"><h2 class=\"bb-cta__kop\">Discuss your case<\/h2><p class=\"bb-cta__tekst\">Do you have a question about real estate abroad? We are happy to discuss which service suits your case. You receive clarity in advance about the assignment, the lead time and the costs.<\/p><p class=\"bb-cta__knop\"><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--invers\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/contact\/\">Discuss your case<\/a><\/p><p class=\"bb-cta__contact\"><a href=\"tel:+31851110123\">+31 (0)85 111 01 23<\/a><span aria-hidden=\"true\"> \u00b7 <\/span><a href=\"mailto:info@bureaubuitenland.be\">info@bureaubuitenland.be<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/section><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":153,"parent":585,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-663","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail"],"bb_rendered":"<section class=\"bb-sectie bb-artikelkop bb-artikelkop--beeld\" id=\"artikelkop\" data-bg=\"primary\" style=\"--bb-ak-img:url(https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-antwerpen.webp)\"><div class=\"bb-container bb-artikelkop__inhoud\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">CASE LAW \u00b7 COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE<\/p><h1>Judgment on appeal: court of first instance of Antwerp, 5 October 2020<\/h1><p class=\"bb-artikelkop__meta\">Court of first instance (rechtbank van eerste aanleg) of Antwerp, civil division \u00b7 judgment on appeal of 5 October 2020<\/p><div class=\"bb-artikelkop__kort\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">In brief<\/p><p>On appeal, the court of first instance (rechtbank van eerste aanleg) of Antwerp confirmed that concealing real estate abroad is a serious breach of the rules on social renting. The tenants had to repay EUR 13,210.07 in wrongly received benefit. The reliance on the right to privacy was rejected.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><nav class=\"bb-breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><ol><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/\">Home<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/\">Case law<\/a><\/li><li><span aria-current=\"page\">Judgment on appeal: court of first instance of Antwerp, 5 October 2020<\/span><\/li><\/ol><\/div><\/nav><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-kolommen\" id=\"inhoud\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><div class=\"bb-kolommen__grid\"><div class=\"bb-kolom bb-kolom--hoofd\"><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"de-zaak\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The case<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><p>A housing company (woonmaatschappij) had had an investigation carried out into whether a number of social tenants owned real estate abroad. The investigation showed that a considerable number of plots of land and apartments were registered wholly or partly in the name of one of the tenants.<\/p>\n<p>At first instance, the justice of the peace (vrederechter) had ruled in favour of the housing company. The tenants appealed against that judgment to the court of first instance of Antwerp.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"de-verweren\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The defences on appeal<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><p>The tenants disputed the claim, relying on certain documents and on their right to privacy. The court rejected these defences. It ruled that concealing real estate abroad constitutes a serious breach of the rules on social renting, and that the tenants had as a result received social advantages for years to which they were not entitled.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"het-oordeel\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>The decision<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><p>The judgment of 5 October 2020 contains three decisions:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>confirmation that the tenants had unduly obtained social advantages;<\/li>\n<li>the obligation to repay the wrongly received benefit of EUR 13,210.07 to the housing company;<\/li>\n<li>the dismissal of the additional claim for the costs of the investigation report and its translation.<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--tekst\" id=\"betekenis\" data-bg=\"paper\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>What this means for your case file<\/h2><div class=\"bb-tekst\"><p>This judgment is significant because it was given on appeal. The line taken by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-hamme-2019\/\">justice of the peace in Hamme<\/a> was thereby confirmed by a higher court: in this case, the court took the evidence from a foreign property investigation into account and the recovery of the social rent reduction was granted. Each ruling relates to a specific case file and offers no guarantee for the outcome of another case.<\/p>\n<p>Note the third point. Unlike in Hamme, the court here did not award the costs of the report and the translation. Whether the investigation costs can be recovered from the tenant therefore depends on the court and on the way in which the claim has been built up. We advise always claiming the investigation costs separately and with substantiation, and submitting the report with a (sworn) translation. How we support this is explained under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/services\/recovery-and-seizure\/\">recovery and seizure<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: judgment on appeal of the court of first instance of Antwerp, civil division, of 5 October 2020, served on 9 November 2020 (copy in our file); <a href=\"https:\/\/businessam.be\/huisvestingsmaatschappijen-mogen-onderzoeksbureaus-inschakelen-om-na-te-gaan-of-sociale-huurders-bezit-hebben-in-het-buitenland\/\">Business AM, 11 December 2020<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vrt.be\/vrtnws\/nl\/2020\/12\/10\/vlaamse-regering-trekt-5-miljoen-uit-voor-vermogensonderzoek-van\/\">VRT NWS, 10 December 2020<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><\/div><div class=\"bb-kolom bb-kolom--zij\"><aside class=\"bb-kaart bb-ihk\" id=\"in-het-kort\"><p class=\"bb-kicker\">Overview<\/p><h2 class=\"bb-ihk__kop\">In brief<\/h2><dl class=\"bb-ihk__lijst\"><div><dt>Lead time<\/dt><dd>usually 1\u20132 weeks<\/dd><\/div><\/dl><p class=\"bb-ihk__knop\"><a class=\"bb-knop\" href=\"\/en\/request-a-pre-check\/\">Request a pre-check<\/a><\/p><ul class=\"bb-ihk__trust\"><li><span class=\"bb-icoon material-symbols-outlined\" aria-hidden=\"true\">check_circle<\/span><span>Carried out in accordance with the GDPR<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-sectie--panel bb-kaarten bb-kaarten--kb\" id=\"gerelateerd\" data-bg=\"panel\"><div class=\"bb-container\"><h2>More case law<\/h2><div class=\"bb-grid-3\"><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/jurisprudentie-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Case law\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Case law<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">Case law on foreign real estate owned by social tenants: Hamme 2019, Antwerp 2020, Woonhaven, Constitutional Court 2024 and Cassation 2026.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-hamme-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Ruling of the justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Ruling of the justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">Justice of the peace of Hamme, 6 June 2019: a social tenant with concealed property in T\u00fcrkiye repays the undue benefit and investigation costs.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-hamme-2019\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><article class=\"bb-kaart bb-kaart--kb\"><img class=\"bb-kaart__beeld\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/vonnis-woonhaven-768x429.webp\" alt=\"Where social fraud is suspected, an investigation into foreign property is mandatory\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><h3 class=\"bb-kaart__titel\">Where social fraud is suspected, an investigation into foreign property is mandatory<\/h3><p class=\"bb-kaart__tekst\">The Antwerp justice of the peace ruled for Woonhaven: a housing company is not only permitted to check whether a tenant owns property abroad, it must.<\/p><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--tertiair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/case-law\/judgment-woonhaven\/\">Read more <span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"bb-sectie bb-cta bb-cta--beeld\" id=\"cta\" data-bg=\"primary\" style=\"--bb-cta-img:url(https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb\/cta-band.webp)\"><div class=\"bb-container bb-cta__inhoud\"><h2 class=\"bb-cta__kop\">Discuss your case<\/h2><p class=\"bb-cta__tekst\">Do you have a question about real estate abroad? We are happy to discuss which service suits your case. You receive clarity in advance about the assignment, the lead time and the costs.<\/p><p class=\"bb-cta__knop\"><a class=\"bb-knop bb-knop--invers\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/contact\/\">Discuss your case<\/a><\/p><p class=\"bb-cta__contact\"><a href=\"tel:+31851110123\">+31 (0)85 111 01 23<\/a><span aria-hidden=\"true\"> \u00b7 <\/span><a href=\"mailto:info@bureaubuitenland.be\">info@bureaubuitenland.be<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/section>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3004,"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/663\/revisions\/3004"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bureaubuitenland.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}