Ixelles 1050 · Brussels-Capital

Renovation in Ixelles.

Townhouses, apartments, co-ownerships. Mouldings, parquet, window frames, bathrooms, kitchens. We are in Uccle, the next commune along.

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What we renovate in Ixelles

What makes Ixelles beautiful is also what makes the heating bill.

Ixelles was built mostly between 1875 and 1914, in narrow, deep townhouses, many of them split into apartments since. Three metres twenty under the ceiling, windows that run up to the cornice, herringbone parquet, mouldings and a marble fireplace in every room. It is magnificent. It is also a volume to heat, with single glazing in front of it.

The order you tackle it in is not the same as in a detached villa. Here is ours.

  1. 01Window frames and glazingThe first item here, because the openings are enormous. Note: in Ixelles, replacing like for like is exempt from a permit, changing the appearance is not.
  2. 02Roof and atticOften a mansard roof shared in co-ownership. Technically simple, administratively less so: the decision goes through the general meeting.
  3. 03Walls from the insideA stone or sgraffito facade cannot be clad. So we insulate from the inside, managing condensation and putting the mouldings back.
  4. 04Heating and ventilationLast. A new boiler in a volume that leaks is still a volume that leaks, only dearer.

Financial support in 2026

In Ixelles, the communal grant is worth 10% of a grant that no longer exists.

Let us be blunt, because nobody else is. The regional Renolution grants are suspended. Homegrade, which is the Region's own information service, states in writing that renovation aid is not known for 2026. The new Brussels government confirmed in February 2026 that the grants will not return in their current form, and that they will be replaced by zero-interest loans whose start date is not known.

What still exists

The 6% VAT rate, which is federal and therefore untouched: dwelling over ten years old, private use, invoice to the end consumer. On a 40,000 euro job that is 6,000 euros against the full rate. And the Ecoreno loan from the Brussels Housing Fund, at a reduced rate.

What no longer exists

The Ixelles communal grant is set at 10% of the regional Energy grant, capped at 300 euros, and you must have obtained the regional grant to qualify. Since the regional one is suspended, the communal one does not open. Ten per cent of nothing is nothing.

What we do about it.
We price your quote with no regional grant in it at all. If the new scheme arrives during the works and you qualify, that is money found. We prefer that surprise to the other one.

What it looks like

The same apartment, once the mouldings are straight again.

You do not modernise a townhouse by erasing what it has. You put it back true, and you put something contemporary inside.

Renovated living room in an Ixelles townhouse, mouldings, marble fireplace and herringbone parquet
The living roomThe ceiling rose and mouldings redone in plaster, the white marble fireplace stripped back, the herringbone sanded and oiled, and slim double glazing in a dark frame.
Renovated deep green kitchen in an Ixelles townhouse, steel glazing onto the courtyard
The kitchenHandleless, in deep green, with a honed Belgian bluestone worktop. The steel-framed glazing opens onto the courtyard, and the original terracotta floor stayed.

Where we work

The districts of Ixelles.

Ixelles is cut in two by the City of Brussels, and the building stock has neither the same age nor the same constraints from one end to the other.

01

Flagey and the Ponds

Investment blocks and townhouses facing the water. A great many co-ownerships, so a great many decisions that go through the general meeting before the first hammer blow.

02

Châtelain

The heart of the narrow, tall bourgeois houses. Original parquet, mouldings and fireplaces almost everywhere, and rear yards that can often be opened up.

03

Saint-Boniface

Dense, lively, with commercial ground floors under the flats. Site disruption and deliveries are organised differently here, early in the morning.

04

Matonge

Older stock, heavily occupied, often divided into small units. We do a lot of bathrooms, kitchens and bringing the wiring up to standard.

05

Ixelles Cemetery and ULB

Student and family territory. Many properties are let, so renovations are designed to last and to pass the EPB certificate.

06

Louise and Bailli

The largest volumes, the finest facades, and the tightest heritage constraints. Here we check the status of the property before drawing anything at all.

Permits and planning

In Ixelles, an identical window frame passes. A different one does not.

Ixelles is in the Brussels Region, so the CoBAT applies, not the Walloon code. The order of 13 November 2008 lists what is exempt from a permit: renovating a room, putting up or taking down a light partition, redoing the electrics, the plumbing or the heating, changing a floor covering, insulating from the inside. As long as the number and layout of dwellings do not move.

Replacing a window frame is exempt like for like: same material, same shape, same colour, same profile width. Single glazing may go to double, and double to triple. Changing the colour or the appearance of the facade, on the other hand, needs a permit. And if the property is listed or in a protected perimeter, which happens often on avenue Louise and around the Ponds, no exemption applies at all.

What we do on our side.
We check the status of the property before pricing, and we prepare the file with you. A job waiting for a permit is not a job running late, provided the delay is written into the quote from the start.

Frequently asked

What people ask us in Ixelles.

Do you work everywhere in Ixelles?

Across the whole commune, from the Ponds to the Châtelain, from Saint-Boniface to Ixelles cemetery, and in both parts separated by the City of Brussels. Our address is chaussée de Waterloo in Uccle, the neighbouring commune.

Can I replace my window frames without a permit?

Yes if it is like for like: same material, same shape, same colour, same profile width. Going from single to double glazing is allowed within that. Changing the appearance or colour of the facade needs a permit. And if the property is listed or in a protected perimeter, no exemption applies.

Do the Renolution grants still exist?

No, they are suspended. Homegrade, the Region's information service, states that renovation aid is not known for 2026, and the Brussels government confirmed in February 2026 that the grants would not return in their current form. So we price with no regional grant.

And the Ixelles communal grant?

It is set at 10% of the regional Energy grant and capped at 300 euros per dwelling, and you must have obtained the regional grant to claim it. With the regional one suspended, the communal one does not open today.

My flat is in a co-ownership, does that make it harder?

For the inside of your own lot, no. For the roof, the facade, the frames seen from the street or the rising mains, the decision belongs to the general meeting. We can provide a quote you can present at the meeting, itemised, if that helps.

Do I qualify for 6% VAT in Ixelles?

The reduced rate is federal, so it is the same everywhere in Belgium: dwelling over ten years old since first occupation, mainly private use, invoice addressed to the end consumer. We check all three conditions with you before pricing.

Your quote

Your quote for Ixelles, in 48 hours.

Tell us what you want to do. We come and measure within five working days, and the detailed quote follows within 48 hours.

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Ixelles street lined with townhouses and Art Nouveau facades