Searching for building plans | Brussels Archives

The Archives of the City of Brussels preserve all building permit files (authorizations and plans) issued by the municipal administration from the 19^th century to the present day.

1 – PROPERTY LOCATION

These documents show the original situation as well as the successive modifications of properties located exclusively within the territory of the City of Brussels, namely:

the municipality of the City of Brussels (1000)
the former municipality of Laeken (1020)
the former municipality of Haren (1130)
the former municipality of Neder-Over-Heembeek (1120)

! For urban planning files of other municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region, please contact the municipality where the property is located: Anderlecht / Auderghem / Berchem-Sainte-Agathe / Etterbeek / Evere / Forest / Ganshoren / Ixelles / Jette / Koekelberg / Molenbeek-Saint-Jean / Saint-Gilles / Saint-Josse-ten-Noode / Schaerbeek / Uccle / Watermael-Boitsfort / Woluwe-Saint-Lambert / Woluwe-Saint-Pierre

2 – AVAILABLE INFORMATION

The urban planning files available for consultation at the Archives of the City of Brussels are:

closed building permits
closed environmental permits
subdivision permits issued between 1962 and 2017
- ! information on older subdivision permits can also be found on the External siteBruGIS® mapping site

! AS A REMINDER !

Regarding urban planning permits, the sole mission of the Brussels City Archives is to provide access to files for consultation.

Therefore, the staff of the Archives Service are not authorized:

to provide access to files that are still being processed (please check the permit’s validity date on External siteopenpermits.brussels);
- ! for building permits in progress, please refer to the Urban Planning Permits Service page
to answer urban planning questions (legal status, zoning, explanations of plans, etc.);
to give opinions or interpret the content of urban planning permit files kept in the repository;
to issue certificates of any kind (zoning status, absence of plans, etc.);
to provide prior information for permit/urban planning or subdivision certificate applications, nor on applicable plans and regulations for a parcel or real estate project
- ! for this type of question, you may contact the Technical Information Unit of the Urban Development Department of the City of Brussels

Files still under review, subdivision permits issued prior to 1962, alignment plans, PPAS (specific urban planning programs), municipal development plans, masterplans, municipal urban planning regulations, etc., are therefore not available for consultation at the Archives of the City of Brussels (to consult these documents, please contact the competent services – see the section below “Other competent services” ↓).

3 – CONDITIONS OF CONSULTATION

If you wish to consult urban planning permits in the reading room, please review the consultation conditions for urban planning files (see section below “Conditions of Consultation” ↓).

4 – CONDITIONS OF REPRODUCTION

If you wish to obtain reproductions of urban planning files (plans, permits, etc.), please review the reproduction conditions (see section below “Conditions of Reproduction” ↓).

! regarding urban planning files, reproduction requests may only be submitted in the reading room, after the requester has conducted their on-site research and personally selected the documents to be digitized.

5 – MAKING AN APPOINTMENT

Appointments are made exclusively via our External siteonline booking system (“Urban Planning Research” timeslot)

Not completely at ease with digital technology? You may still book an appointment by phone on 02/279.53.20
Do you live abroad and can't get to the reading room? Please contact us by email at archives@brucity.be

For practical reasons, we ask you to respect the appointment time and to inform us in case of lateness or impediment (either our External siteonline booking system or by calling 02/279.53.20).

IMPORTANT!

Appointments must be made at least 3 days in advance.
Appointments are nominative and individual. It is therefore not permitted:
- to book an appointment with your account reader on behalf of another person
- to come to the reading room if you have not personally booked your timeslot via your own account reader
- ! This rule also applies to ‘accompanying persons’, who must create their own reader account and book a timeslot in their own name.
Each consultation timeslot (1h30) is limited to a maximum of 2 addresses
- This limitation is due to the time required in the reading room to carry out research in the Public Works Collection
- Booking multiple seats in the same time slot will not increase the number of addresses you may research during your appointment but will block places for other readers
- ! If you wish to carry out research on more than 2 addresses, we therefore invite you to book consecutive timeslots (e.g. one at 9:00, one at 10:30, etc.).

Conditions of consultation

If you wish to consult urban planning permits in the reading room, please review the consultation conditions:

	consult.	repro
unclosed permit application	x²	x²
closed permit application:
(option A) private property of which I am the owner	v	v
(option B) private property of which I am not the owner	v	~
(option C) private property that is a place of public gathering (see the list)	~	~
(option D) property owned by the City of Brussels	x	x
(option E) property owned by a public institution other than the City of Brussels, whether municipal, federal, or European	~	~

v	authorized
~	possible provided that the reader comes to the reading room with written authorization from the owner/manager
x	refused (the reader may first request authorization from the Public Patrimony Department, and only if this authorization is granted may an appointment be made in the reading room, where the reader must present the same written authorization)
x²	refused (these files are not held at the City of Brussels Archives and therefore cannot be consulted on site; in this case, the reader must contact the other competent services)

Conditions of reproduction

1 – AUTHORISATIONS

If you wish to obtain reproductions of urban planning files (plans, permits, etc.), please review the reproduction conditions:

! regarding urban planning files, reproduction requests can only be submitted in the reading room, after the requester has conducted their on-site research and personally selected the documents to be digitized.

	consult.	repro
unclosed permit application	x²	x²
closed permit application:
(option A) private property of which I am the owner	v	v
(option B) private property of which I am not the owner	v	~
(option C) private property that is a place of public gathering (see the list)	~	~
(option D) property owned by the City of Brussels	x	x
(option E) property owned by a public institution other than the City of Brussels, whether municipal, federal, or European	~	~

v	authorized
~	possible provided that the reader comes to the reading room with written authorization from the owner/manager
x	refused (the reader may first request authorization from the Public Patrimony Department, and only if this authorization is granted may an appointment be made in the reading room, where the reader must present the same written authorization)
x²	refused (these files are not held at the City of Brussels Archives and therefore cannot be consulted on site; in this case, the reader must contact the other competent services)

2 – REPRODUCTION METHODS

When conditions are met, urban planning files may:

be photographed without flash in the reading room (metal surfaces and magnets are provided to hold plans);
be digitized upon request (performed by an external service provider and is subject to prior payment of a fee – further details will be provided in the reading room)

The following reproduction methods are strictly prohibited in the reading room:

photocopying
photography with flash
personal scanners

Other competent services

The urban planning files available for consultation at the Archives of the City of Brussels are:

closed building permits
closed environmental permits
subdivision permits issued between 1962 and 2017
- ! information on older subdivision permits can also be found on the BruGIS® mapping site

! AS A REMINDER !

Regarding urban planning permits, the sole mission of the Brussels City Archives is to provide access to files for consultation.

Therefore, the staff of the Archives Service are not authorized:

to provide access to files that are still being processed (please check the permit’s validity date on openpermits.brussels);
- ! for building permits in progress, please refer to the Urban Planning Permits Service page
to answer urban planning questions (legal status, zoning, explanations of plans, etc.);
to give opinions or interpret the content of urban planning permit files kept in the repository;
to issue certificates of any kind (zoning status, absence of plans, etc.);
to provide prior information for permit/urban planning or subdivision certificate applications, nor on applicable plans and regulations for a parcel or real estate project
- ! for this type of question, you may contact the Technical Information Unit of the Urban Development Department of the City of Brussels

If you wish to obtain this type of information, please refer to:

1 – GENERAL OVERVIEW

urban planning regulations in force in Brussels: websites of the City of Brussels and the Brussels-Capital Region;
the most recent urban planning data for the Brussels-Capital Region: BruGIS® mapping site;
free support and advice for individuals:
- Advice and support centre for housing in the Brussels-Capital Region ( Homegrade) for free advice on your renovation and work projects in your home;
- ASBL Convivence for all information, advice and technical support in the areas of renovation and energy, urban planning regulations, financial aid and grants;
free support and advice for companies: Brussels Agency for Business Support for free personalized support on all matters relating to urban planning (analysis of permit applications, office/parking/advertising regulations, procedures to follow, recommendations, etc.) in the Brussels-Capital Region.

2 – SPECIFIC DETAILS

old and recent alignment plans: Strategic and operational planning service of the City of Brussels Urban Development department ( urb.topo@brucity.be);
- ! the most recent alignment plans are available on the website of the City of Brussels Urban Development department;
Building permits in progress: Urban Planning Permits Service of the Urban Development Department of the City of Brussels;
Environmental permits in progress: Environmental Permits Service of the Urban Development Department of the City of Brussels;
PPAS, municipal development plan, masterplan and municipal town planning regulations: available on the website of the City of Brussels Urban Development department.