Your home failed its electrical inspection. Here’s what that actually means.

Somewhere in your purchase file is a document titled keuringsverslag van de elektrische installatie. It was drawn up by an accredited inspection body, and if your home was built before 1981 — or rewired a long time ago — the verdict on the front page almost certainly reads niet conform: does not comply. That sounds like the house is about to burn down. It isn’t. But unlike the EPC’s six-year renovation deadline, the electrical re-inspection clock runs out in 18 months, so it is worth understanding what the report actually says and what you need to do about it.

Why the inspection exists

Flemish law requires an electrical inspection at every change of ownership. An accredited body (erkend organisme) checks the installation against Book 1 of the Belgian electrical code — wiring methods, protection devices, earthing, bathroom zones, documentation. The inspector does not rewire anything; they document what they find and stamp it conform or niet conform.

For homes with a pre-1981 installation — before modern electrical codes applied — a niet-conform result is the norm, not the exception. It does not mean the home is unsafe to occupy today; it means the installation does not meet current standards and must be brought into compliance on a defined timeline.

Decoding the violations list

The report contains a numbered list of infractions (inbreuken). The Dutch terminology can look impenetrable, but most violations on older homes fall into a handful of categories. Here is what the common ones mean in plain English:

Geen aardingsinstallatie gevonden — no earth electrode found. The inspector could not locate or measure an earth connection. Without it, fault protection does not work as designed. This is one of the most common findings on pre-1981 homes and one of the most important to fix.

Differentieelschakelaar type AC i.p.v. type A — the main residual-current device (RCD, or differentieelschakelaar) is an older type AC instead of the required type A. Type A also detects pulsating DC fault currents, which modern appliances (washing machines, EV chargers, induction cooktops) can produce. Replacement is straightforward and not expensive.

Geen 30 mA-bescherming in de badkamer — the bathroom circuit lacks dedicated 30 mA protection. Water and electricity in close proximity need a fast-acting RCD on that circuit specifically, separate from the main board protection.

Geen eendraadschema / geen situatieplan — no single-line wiring diagram and no layout plan exist. The electrician who does the remedial work will need to produce these, which is both a requirement and a useful byproduct — you end up with a documented installation.

Verbindingen buiten aftakdozen — connections made outside junction boxes. Exposed wire joints are a fire and shock risk. Common in homes where wiring has been extended informally over decades.

Beschadigde stopcontacten of schakelaars — damaged sockets or switches. Cracked faceplates, loose mountings, missing covers. Usually the cheapest items on the list to fix.

Your report may contain more or fewer items. The inspector’s job is to list every deviation from the current code — the list length reflects the age of the installation, not the danger level of the house.

The legal deadline: 18 months

Here is the part that matters for your calendar. If the installation is niet conform, the violations must be remedied and the installation re-inspected within 18 months of the notarial deed. Not 18 months from the inspection date — 18 months from the deed. Any accredited inspection body may perform the re-inspection; you are not tied to the original inspector.

This is a shorter clock than the EPC’s six-year renovation obligation, and for a home undergoing a full energy renovation, it means the electrical work should be scheduled early — ideally as part of the first phase of interior works.

Repair vs. rewire: which does this home need?

The report tells you what is wrong; it does not prescribe a solution. Whether you need targeted repairs or a full rewire depends on the scope of the violations and the scope of your renovation.

A home with a handful of minor violations — a missing diagram, a wrong RCD type, a few damaged sockets — can often be brought into compliance with targeted fixes by a qualified electrician. A few hundred to a couple of thousand euros, scheduled in a day or two.

A home with no earth electrode, no bathroom protection, connections outside boxes throughout, no documentation, and a renovation plan that involves opening walls for insulation and replacing the heating system with a heat pump — that home is, in practice, a full rewire. An electrician’s assessment settles the question, but the realistic assumption for a pre-1981 installation in a home undergoing deep renovation is that the electrical system gets rebuilt alongside the rest.

If you are installing a heat pump, an induction cooktop, or planning for an EV charger, size the new installation for the home you are creating, not the one you bought. A heat pump alone draws significantly more power than the old gas or oil boiler it replaces; adding induction and EV charging can double the service-entrance requirement. Getting this right at the rewire stage costs almost nothing extra; retrofitting it later costs a second visit and a second set of disruption.

Sequencing: do it while the walls are open

The 18-month electrical deadline and the six-year energy renovation deadline run on different clocks, but the work itself overlaps. New wiring runs through the same walls you are opening for insulation. New circuit breakers sit in the same utility space as the heat pump controls. Scheduling the rewire alongside the first interior renovation works — rather than after the finishes are in — avoids cutting into freshly insulated walls and replastered surfaces.

The practical sequence for most deep renovations: electrical rough-in and new distribution board early, then insulation and wall finishes over the top, then final electrical fit-off (sockets, switches, lighting) before the re-inspection. Your electrician and your insulation contractor need to coordinate timing, but the conversation is straightforward once both know the plan.

Your next step

The electrical inspection report is one of several documents in your purchase file that can change the renovation plan your EPC suggests. A failed inspection adds a legal deadline the EPC does not mention; a pre-1981 installation in a home headed for deep renovation is, practically speaking, a rewire folded into the works. Our Owner’s Decision Report reads this report — alongside your EPC, your asbestos certificate, and the rest of your file — and tells you how they interact: which clocks are running, which jobs have predecessor steps, and what belongs in your contractor quotes from day one.

Based on Flemish electrical inspection requirements under Book 1 of the Belgian electrical code. Rules as described are current as of June 2026; for later changes, consult your accredited inspection body or the FOD Economie.