Illustration generated for this guide. It does not represent a property for sale.
Original ComparImmo illustration of a property document review.
Read the document before deciding
In Flanders, an asbestos certificate is required for, among other transactions, the sale of buildings constructed before 2001. Ask the notary to confirm how this applies to your transaction. As a buyer, you need more than confirmation that a document exists. Understand what it describes and what remains to be checked. Request the complete version and available attachments. A reassuring sentence in an advertisement does not replace reading the certificate or obtaining answers to the questions raised by your intended renovation.
Connect each finding to a part of the property
Start with the address, scope of the inspection and certificate references. Then connect each finding to an identifiable room, installation or area. If an extension or garage is not clearly included, ask whether it was inspected. Make a simple reading plan using the document’s item numbers, without presenting it as a technical survey. It helps you show a specialist exactly which passage needs explanation. Keep the pages describing inspection limitations too. An unmentioned area should not quietly become an assumption that everything was checked.
Prepare your next step: A house to renovate: move beyond guesswork in your budget
Separate normal use from renovation work
OVAM describes the standard inventory as non-destructive. Hidden materials that building work might uncover are therefore not necessarily identified in it. Read the overall conclusion alongside the detailed findings and your work programme. Repainting a room and completely replacing a bathroom raise different questions. Explain your plans to the professional responsible for the assessment before work and ask what additional investigation is needed. Do not drill into a suspect material yourself to find out. Reading a certificate does not amount to inspecting asbestos on site.
OVAM: understanding the certificate and inventory limitations
Request quotes with comparable scope
Give contractors the relevant findings and a description of the planned work. Ask each proposal to explain the areas covered, interventions, exclusions and documents needed before starting. A lump sum with no defined scope is difficult to compare with a detailed quote. If additional investigation is required, distinguish it from work already priced. Avoid an assumed allowance for the entire house: it conceals differences between what has been identified and what remains unexamined. Compare the scope first, then the amounts and conditions attached to each proposal.
For an apartment, ask about shared areas too
Do not limit your enquiries to the apartment interior. Ask the seller and building manager which records are available for shared areas. The official Flemish website gives a general deadline of 31 December 2026 for the co-ownerships concerned. Have the notary clarify what your sale requires and ask the co-ownership what steps have already been taken. For your decision, establish which assessments exist, what questions remain and which works have actually been approved. Request supporting documents so a casual comment does not become a supposedly confirmed cost.
Keep the purchase price separate from uncertain work
Fictional example: two houses have similar prices. The first has detailed renovation proposals matching your plans; for the second, you have only a verbal estimate. Those are not yet two equally well-supported budgets. Separate the asking price, confirmed costs and items needing assessment in your comparison. An unknown amount is not zero. You may choose to investigate further, but keep your financial contingency labelled as an assumption. It does not prove the work will fit within your available funds, nor that the cheaper option is necessarily better value.
Give the AI report a specific role
Analysing a readable PDF in ComparImmo can help locate information and gaps in the document you provide. Check the quoted passages, retain the original certificate in your own file and record questions for qualified professionals. The report does not determine asbestos presence remotely or approve a contractor’s quote. Compare two properties using consistent criteria and separate confirmed costs from simulations based on your assumptions. Document analysis is useful when it helps you prepare a specific request for verification, rather than giving certainty the underlying file cannot provide.
Keep the answers for the next stage
Store the certificate, written replies and selected proposals together with their dates and versions. The Proprioo guide on organising a rental file offers a complementary method if you intend to let the property later. Do not confuse good organisation with a promise of secure document hosting by a tool not intended to store those files. Before a binding offer, have the notary confirm the document obligations and the relevant professionals assess the planned work. This guide concerns Flanders; its requirements should not automatically be transferred to another region.
Sources and references
ComparImmo editorial team. Sources checked on 4 October 2026. Check the rules for the region and your circumstances before making a commitment.