Saint-Gilles 1060 · Brussels-Capital

Renovation in Saint-Gilles.

Art Nouveau facades, sgraffito, window frames, mouldings, bathrooms, kitchens. A magnificent building stock, and tight rules. We know both.

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What we renovate in Saint-Gilles

Two and a half square kilometres, and not one ordinary facade.

Saint-Gilles was built all at once, between 1890 and 1914, when Art Nouveau was simply the ordinary architecture of investment houses. Sgraffito friezes under the cornice, whiplash ironwork, stained glass in the fanlights, wooden bow windows, bluestone plinths. Victor Horta built his own house here. Almost nothing has been demolished since.

All of it is splendid and all of it is fragile. So the order of works follows water and light, not enthusiasm.

  1. 01Facade and sgraffitoA sgraffito is an incised and coloured render: it is cleaned and restored, never repainted. We stabilise, repoint, protect, and we never cover it over.
  2. 02Frames and stained glassLike-for-like replacement is exempt from a permit. Stained glass fanlights are taken out, restored and put back in front of new double glazing: you keep the drawing and gain the comfort.
  3. 03Roof and cornicesThe projecting wooden cornices are the weak point of this stock. A cornice taking in water ruins the frieze right below it, so it comes before anything cosmetic.
  4. 04Interior and volumesMouldings, marble fireplaces, parquet. We keep them and redo everything that does not show: wiring, plumbing, insulation from the inside.

Financial support in 2026

In Saint-Gilles, the scaffolding is paid to the commune. And the refund is blocked.

This is a local quirk that few quotes mention. In a commune this dense, putting up scaffolding or a skip occupies public space, and that occupation is taxed. The commune does have an encouragement grant, renewed by the communal council on 18 December 2025, which refunds exactly that tax for renovating the front facade or the roof, limited to the first fourteen days of occupation. The problem lies elsewhere.

Why it does not open

The regulation requires you to attach a copy of the Region's agreement under the Renolution grants. Since the regional grants are suspended, that agreement does not exist, and the communal grant stays shut. The commune's own page says it: a decision from the regional government is needed.

What still exists

The 6% VAT rate, federal and untouched: dwelling over ten years old, private use, invoice to the end consumer. On a full facade at €20,000 that is €3,000 against the full rate. And the Ecoreno loan from the Brussels Housing Fund, at a reduced rate.

What we do about it.
We price the public space occupation tax as a separate, visible line in the quote, and we plan the works to stay as close as possible to the fourteen days. If the regional scheme restarts, the file is ready to submit. Communal desk 18, Monday and Thursday from 8am to noon.

What it looks like

The same flat, once the stained glass is back in the light.

Here, a successful renovation is the one you cannot see. Keep everything that carries the value and redo all the rest.

Restored living room in a Saint-Gilles house with Art Nouveau cornice, marble fireplace and stained glass door
The living roomThe Art Nouveau cornice redone in plaster, the veined marble fireplace stripped back, the herringbone sanded and oiled, and the original stained glass door kept exactly as it was.
Renovated clay red kitchen in a Saint-Gilles house, steel glazing onto the courtyard
The kitchenIn clay red, with a honed Belgian bluestone worktop, the original terracotta tiles kept, and steel-framed glazing that opens the courtyard across its full width.

Where we work

The districts of Saint-Gilles.

Across two and a half square kilometres the stock goes from workers' housing to grand townhouse in three streets. The constraints move with it.

01

Parvis and Bethléem

The lively, working heart. Shops on the ground floor under the flats, works to be organised early in the morning, and a lot of wiring to bring up to standard.

02

Barrière

A dense junction, tall investment blocks, many co-ownerships. Facade and roof decisions go through the general meeting.

03

Ma Campagne

Towards Ixelles, wider and taller townhouses. Fine volumes, fine parquet, and openings that call for made-to-measure frames.

04

Horta quarter

Around the rue Américaine. The highest density of Art Nouveau in the commune, often protected: here we check the status first of all.

05

Bosnie and Verhaegen

A tight fabric of workers' houses and small investment houses. Full renovations are common, often with people still living there.

06

Porte de Hal

On the edge of the Pentagone, mixed stock and larger buildings. Site logistics are complicated, so they are prepared well in advance.

Permits and planning

In Saint-Gilles, we check the status of the property before drawing anything at all.

Saint-Gilles is in the Brussels Region, so the CoBAT applies. The order of 13 November 2008 exempts interior work 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. Provided the number of dwellings does not move and nothing touches stability.

Outside, this is one of the most closely watched communes in Brussels, and rightly so. A window frame replaced like for like passes, single to double glazing included. Changing the colour or the visible material needs a permit. And if the property is listed or in a protected perimeter, which is common around the rue Américaine, no exemption applies at all: everything goes through a procedure, sgraffito and ironwork included.

What we do on our side.
We check the property's heritage status before pricing, and we build the public space occupation tax and the processing time into the quote. A scaffold stopped by an inspection costs more than a file prepared properly.

Frequently asked

What people ask us in Saint-Gilles.

Do you work everywhere in Saint-Gilles?

Across the whole commune, from the Parvis to Ma Campagne, from the Barrière to the Horta quarter. Our address is chaussée de Waterloo in Uccle, a few minutes away.

Can I have a sgraffito cleaned or restored?

Yes, and it is restoration work, not painting. A sgraffito is an incised and coloured render: it is stabilised, cleaned and retouched. It is never repainted and never covered over. If the property is protected, the work goes through a procedure.

Do I have to pay to put up scaffolding?

Yes. Occupying public space is taxed by the commune. There is an encouragement grant that refunds that tax for the front facade or the roof, limited to the first fourteen days, but it requires the regional Renolution agreement, which is suspended. So we price the tax as a visible line in the quote.

Do the Renolution grants still exist?

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

Can I replace my Art Nouveau window frames?

Like for like, yes, and it is exempt from a permit: same material, same shape, same colour, same profile width. Single glazing can go to double. Stained glass fanlights are taken out and put back in front of the new glazing. On a listed property, everything goes through a procedure.

Do I qualify for 6% VAT in Saint-Gilles?

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 Saint-Gilles, 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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Saint-Gilles street lined with Art Nouveau facades decorated with sgraffito