Corporate Housing in Belgium
Corporate housing in Belgium is a furnished apartment rented for one to eleven months at one monthly price that already includes energy. Globexs, founded in 2002, offers it in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent, with 135 published properties in Belgium. We house single employees and teams of up to 50 people. Once the contract is signed and the first payment arrives by instant transfer, check-in can take place the same day or the next day. This page explains what is included, what it costs, how contracts and invoices work, and what to sort out before an employee arrives.
What corporate housing in Belgium covers
Corporate housing in Belgium fills the gap between a hotel and a standard Belgian lease. When a company needs to house someone for a few months, it has three options, and two of them fit badly.
A hotel is available tonight and needs no paperwork. Over three or six months, though, the cost adds up, there is no proper kitchen, and an employee living out of a hotel room for a quarter tends to start counting the days until going home.
A standard Belgian residential lease is the opposite problem. The default for a main residence is the nine-year "3-6-9" lease, and short-term leases still come with a registered contract, a rental deposit in a blocked account, energy contracts in the tenant's name and an empty apartment to furnish. For a five-month assignment, none of that makes sense.
Corporate housing sits between the two. The apartment is furnished, the contract length matches the assignment, energy is part of the monthly price, and each apartment is billed once a month on a fixed date.
What the all-in price includes
Every Globexs apartment in Belgium is rented at an all-in monthly price, and energy is included without a euro cap. There is no monthly energy allowance that runs out in January and turns into a surprise bill. What you are quoted is what the apartment costs each month.
| Item | How it works in Belgium |
|---|---|
| Furnished apartment, equipped kitchen | Included |
| Energy: electricity and heating | Included, no euro cap |
| Internet | Included |
| Cleaning | Included every two weeks in selected apartments; shown in each listing |
| Parking | Shown in each listing: a private space at extra cost, usually around EUR 100 per month, or street parking |
Because energy is part of the price, the price depends on how many people live in the apartment. If a partner or family member will join the employee during the stay, tell us in advance so the price can be set correctly.
Prices in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent
Corporate housing starts at EUR 1,300 per month in Antwerp and EUR 1,500 per month in Brussels and Ghent, all-in. Houses for work teams near Brussels start at EUR 2,950 per month.
| City | Monthly price, all-in | Where most demand comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | from EUR 1,300 | Port of Antwerp-Bruges, logistics, petrochemicals, the diamond district |
| Ghent | from EUR 1,500 | Local industry, the university, teams working between Antwerp and Brussels |
| Brussels | from EUR 1,500 | EU institutions, diplomatic postings, consultants |
The final figure depends on the apartment, its size and the number of occupants. Your rental agent confirms the price in writing before anything is signed.
Who we house in Belgium
Most corporate housing demand in Belgium comes from companies and institutions rather than from individual expats. Four groups account for most of it.
Port, logistics and petrochemical teams. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is one of the largest ports in Europe, and the chemical cluster around it runs on project work. Maintenance shutdowns, turnarounds and plant projects bring in crews for weeks or months, often in groups and often at short notice.
EU institutions, diplomats and consultants. Brussels runs on postings and secondments. Start dates are fixed, and the apartment has to be ready before the person lands.
The diamond district. Antwerp's diamond trade works on international rotation, with professionals arriving for defined periods.
Sports clubs. Players and staff arrive mid-season on contracts that may or may not be renewed. The club usually arranges and pays for the housing.
We also house individual expats and their families, on the same terms. The average stay across our Belgian apartments is 5.3 months.
Three cities, three different markets
Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent are an hour or less apart, but they serve different needs, and the right city depends on where the work is.
Brussels is institutional. Demand concentrates around the EU quarter and the neighbourhoods that commute into it, and arrivals follow posting cycles rather than the calendar. Apartments: corporate housing in Brussels. What HR should plan for: corporate housing in Brussels, a guide for HR.
Antwerp is industrial and commercial. The port, the chemical plants and the diamond district generate most of the demand, and part of it sits close to the sites where people actually work. Apartments: corporate housing in Antwerp. What HR should plan for: corporate housing in Antwerp, a guide for HR.
Ghent works as a satellite. It sits between Antwerp and Brussels, has its own industrial base and a large university, and often suits a team that needs to reach both cities. Apartments: corporate housing in Ghent. What HR should plan for: corporate housing in Ghent, a guide for HR.
Contracts from one to eleven months
Globexs contracts in Belgium run from one month to eleven months. That covers a short project, a six-month secondment and most of a year, without the commitments of a standard Belgian residential lease.
Assignments change, and the contract is built for that.
Extending a stay. One email to your rental agent is enough, for individual tenants and for companies alike. There is no new application.
Replacing an employee. If one employee leaves and a colleague takes over the apartment, the contract stays in place. We add an addendum that changes the tenant's name, and the new occupant moves in under the same terms.
Stays that grow. If a partner or family member joins mid-stay, tell us beforehand. It is possible, and the price is adjusted for the number of occupants because energy is included.
How fast an employee can move in
Check-in can take place the same day or the next day after the contract is signed and the first payment is made by instant transfer. The limit is availability, not paperwork: from an individual tenant we need only an identity document.
A request with a start date two weeks away is straightforward. A request for several apartments in the same city starting next week is possible, but it depends on what is free that week, and we will tell you plainly.
September is the busiest month in Belgium. Many new projects and postings start after the summer holidays, and the best apartments go first. If an arrival is planned for September, send the enquiry in July or August.
Housing a team of 1 to 50 people
Globexs houses teams of 1 to 50 people in Belgium. Larger groups are usually spread over several apartments in the same area, so colleagues live close to each other and to the site.
Typical scenario: a contractor sends a crew of twelve to a petrochemical project near the port of Antwerp for seven months. They share apartments of two and three bedrooms, check in on staggered dates as the crew arrives, and one person is replaced halfway through with an addendum to the existing contract. When the project runs over, the stays are extended by email.
For a team, send us the number of people, whether they can share, the start dates and the work location. We come back with what is available, apartment by apartment.
One all-in invoice, on a fixed date
Rent, energy and internet arrive on one monthly invoice. It is issued on the 15th and is due on the 1st of the following month, so finance teams have two weeks to process it, and no separate utility bill arrives later. No Belgian bank account is needed to pay.
Registering with the commune
Employees staying in Belgium for more than three months must register with the commune, and they need an address that allows it. Globexs apartments can be used as a registered address when the owner agrees.
The process is simple. Send a written request to your rental agent. We ask the owner, obtain written permission and tell you the decision. Registration does not change the price, the contract or the deposit, and the process is the same in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent.
If registration matters, mention it in the first enquiry, so the owner's answer is known before anyone signs. Deadlines, documents and the police check are explained in our guide to registering with the commune in Belgium.
Why companies choose Globexs in Belgium
Globexs started in Antwerp. In the late 1990s its founder, Lodewijk Cuypers, a Belgian entrepreneur from Eeklo in East Flanders who studied at the University of Antwerp, began helping Erasmus students and incoming expats find short-term housing in the city. He founded Globexs in 2002, and the company has rented furnished apartments in Antwerp since 2009. Today, the company houses corporate tenants in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent with 135 published properties, and the average stay is 5.3 months.
That length matters. It means most of our tenants are not passing through: they are engineers on a project, staff on a posting, players on a season, people who need an apartment that works as a home for months. Our process is built for that, from same-day or next-day check-in to extension by a single email.
Globexs also houses tenants across Spain, with its head office in Valencia. A company with staff moving between the two countries can work with one housing provider on both sides.
How to start
To get a first answer, send us five things:
- 1The city, and if you know it, the work address
- 2The number of people and whether any of them can share
- 3The start date and the expected length of stay
- 4Whether anyone will register with the commune, bring a pet or need parking
- 5Who signs the contract and receives the invoices
That is enough for your rental agent to reply with available apartments and all-in prices. The full process, from enquiry to check-out, is described on how renting with Globexs works in Belgium.
Frequently asked questions
A furnished apartment rented for one to eleven months at one all-in monthly price that includes energy. Globexs provides it in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent for companies placing employees and for individuals on assignment.
With Globexs, apartments start at EUR 1,300 per month in Antwerp and EUR 1,500 per month in Brussels and Ghent, all-in. The final price depends on the apartment and the number of occupants.
The furnished apartment, internet and energy, with no euro cap on energy. Cleaning every two weeks is included in selected apartments. Parking is shown in each listing, as a private space at extra cost, usually around EUR 100 per month, or street parking.
From one month to eleven months. The average stay in our Belgian apartments is 5.3 months.
The same day or the next day after the contract is signed and the first payment arrives by instant transfer, if a suitable apartment is available. In September, the busiest month, enquire early.
Yes. One email to your rental agent is enough, for companies and individuals alike.
The contract continues. We add an addendum that changes the tenant, and the new employee moves in under the same terms.
Yes. Globexs houses teams of 1 to 50 people in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent, usually across several apartments in the same area.
Every apartment is billed on one all-in monthly invoice, issued on the 15th and due on the 1st of the following month. The invoice covers the all-in price, and no Belgian bank account is needed to pay it.
Yes, if the owner agrees. Send a written request to your rental agent; we obtain the owner's written permission and tell you the decision. Registration does not change the price, the contract or the deposit.
An identity document. We do not ask for payslips, an employer letter or a guarantor.
Globexs was founded in Antwerp in 2002 by Lodewijk Cuypers, a Belgian entrepreneur from Eeklo who studied at the University of Antwerp. The company has rented furnished apartments in Antwerp since 2009 and today lists 135 properties in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent.
House a team in Belgium
Send the work address, the number of people and the dates. Your rental agent replies with available apartments and all-in prices.
info@globexs.com