Blankenberge changed the rules of the game for owners in 2026. On top of the Flemish registration obligation, already in force along the whole coast, there is now a specific municipal lodging tax. Here is the complete guide, with the official amounts and the steps to take in order.
What are the obligations for letting tourist accommodation in Blankenberge?
Two levels stack up. First, Flanders: the decree on tourist accommodation (Logiesdecreet of 5 February 2016, in force since 1 April 2017) requires all tourist accommodation to be declared to Toerisme Vlaanderen and to hold a positive fire safety certificate. Second, the municipality: since 1 January 2026, Blankenberge has applied a lodging tax to anyone who lets their residence or property for payment (blankenberge.be, accessed on 31 August 2026).
How do you declare your accommodation to Toerisme Vlaanderen?
Registration is done online via Toerisme Vlaanderen's operator portal. There you declare the accommodation, its characteristics and its operator, and you obtain a registration number specific to the Logiesdecreet. This number is requested by the platforms and must be displayed. The declaration is a prerequisite, not an optional formality: without it, the accommodation is not compliant.
For details of the procedure, see our Logiesdecreet and registration number guide.
Which fire safety certificate is required in Blankenberge?
The Logiesdecreet requires a fire safety certificate issued after an inspection. In practice, on the coast, the inspection is carried out by ACEG. It covers optical smoke detectors compliant with standard EN 14604 with a sealed 10-year battery, evacuation and, where applicable, fire doors. Without a positive certificate, the accommodation cannot be operated.
The full procedure is set out in our fire safety certificate guide.
What is the Blankenberge lodging tax?
Since 1 January 2026, Blankenberge has levied a lodging tax (logiesbelasting) on anyone who lets their accommodation for payment, including via an Airbnb-type listing. The tax regulation was adopted unanimously by the municipal council on 16 December 2025 and replaces the former verblijfsbelasting of 15 November 2022. The definition is deliberately broad: one night is enough, no additional service is required, and it makes no difference whether the letting is professional or private.
The 2026 rates are set out in Article 4 of the regulation:
- Vakantiewoning or apartment equipped for 1 to 6 people: €650 a year.
- For 7 to 12 people: €1,000 a year.
- For more than 12 people: €1,250 a year.
- Hotel room, guest room, or room let separately in a house or apartment: €450 per room.
The tax is an indivisible annual flat rate, due even if the accommodation remains unoccupied or the rent goes unpaid. It is indexed each year from 2027 to the consumer price index, with no figures published in advance: the amounts for 2027 to 2031 will only be known year by year. If operation starts, stops or is transferred during the year, Article 8 provides for a calculation in twelfths, with any month begun counting as a full month.
A practical point that decides your bracket: Blankenberge does not require any return. The tax is assessed on the basis of the data known to the municipality, including the Flemish register of tourist accommodation. The capacity you declare to Toerisme Vlaanderen therefore directly determines your rate, and stating a capacity of seven people rather than six moves it from €650 to €1,000 a year. These amounts are those of the municipal regulation currently in force: check them before any profitability calculation, and have your situation validated by the city or by an adviser.
A useful clarification: if you host family or friends free of charge, the lodging tax is not due (blankenberge.be).
And the second-residence tax, which comes on top
This is the most costly point, and the one most often missed. In Blankenberge, the lodging tax does not replace the second-residence tax: it is added to it. The second-residence regulation, adopted on the same date, 16 December 2025, sets the 2026 rate at €1,099 per housing unit, payable by the owner as at 1 January of the tax year, whether or not the property is let.
The explanatory statement of the regulation settles the question in black and white: the fact that a private dwelling is used, wholly or partly, as tourist accommodation does not affect its liability to tax as a second residence, as the two taxes have a different purpose. The only non-cumulation arrangement concerns land-related accommodation, i.e. campsites and holiday parks.
Actual municipal charge for a holiday apartment equipped for 1 to 6 people in Blankenberge in 2026: €650 lodging tax plus €1,099 second-residence tax, i.e. €1,749 a year. Only Ostend is more expensive on the coast, at €2,011.
Two neighbouring municipalities stick to a single tax, but by opposite routes. In Knokke-Heist, switching to tourist accommodation takes the property out of the second-residence tax: it pays the lodging tax, i.e. €1,040 for four sleeping places and €1,560 for six. In De Haan, it is the other way round: the non-cumulation clause in its regulations gives priority to the second-residence tax, so the holiday home remains subject to it and pays €975, with no lodging tax on top. The rule can never be inferred from the neighbouring municipality; it has to be read in the regulation of the municipality concerned.
One legal subtlety is worth knowing. Article 4 of the second-residence regulation excludes rooms that form part of the operation of a "kamergerelateerd toeristisch logies" within the meaning of the Order of 17 March 2017. Yet, in Flemish terminology, this category also includes holiday homes. The municipality of De Haan wrote the same exclusion but expressly added "except for holiday homes"; Blankenberge adopted the wording without this reservation. The municipality's position is clear and it is the municipality that assesses the tax, so it is indeed €1,749 that you need to budget for. But if you receive both tax assessment notices, this is a ground for objection worth having examined by a tax lawyer, within three months of receipt, failing which the right to object is lost.
Can the tax be passed on to guests?
Yes, with a cap. Article 6 of the regulation allows the operator to charge a maximum of €2.50 per person per night, only once per stay for the same guest. This cap is indexed from 2027. Note that this is not a municipal tourist tax payable by the guest: Blankenberge does not levy one. It is simply an option to pass the cost on, and it is up to you to decide whether to charge it separately, include it in the rate or absorb it.
Do the maths before relying on it. For a stay for 4 people, €2.50 per person per night amounts to €10 per night. Covering the €650 lodging tax takes around 65 nights let to four people. Covering the full municipal charge, second-residence tax included, takes around 175, i.e. almost half the year at full capacity. For a property let mainly in season, passing the cost on lightens the bill; it does not wipe it out.
What are the risks of non-compliance in Blankenberge?
Penalties derive from the Logiesdecreet, which provides for administrative fines and closure of the accommodation in the event of undeclared operation or operation without a fire safety certificate. The exact amounts depend on the regulations in force and on Toerisme Vlaanderen's inspections: the safest course is to be compliant before the first letting, rather than regularising after an inspection.
How does HOSTEA support owners in Blankenberge?
HOSTEA is a short-term rental property management company active along the entire Belgian coast, from De Panne to Knokke. We support owners with the Logiesdecreet declaration, fire safety compliance and properly factoring the municipal tax into their pricing. Arrivals are by key lock box, with fully autonomous self check-in and no in-person welcome.
See our Airbnb property management page for Blankenberge, our Airbnb regulations in Belgium page and our comparison of plans.
This article does not replace professional legal, tax or accounting advice. Municipal tax amounts and regulatory obligations change: always check the current figures with the City of Blankenberge and Toerisme Vlaanderen.
FAQ
Do you have to register your tourist accommodation in Blankenberge?
Yes. The Logiesdecreet of 5 February 2016, in force since 1 April 2017, requires all tourist accommodation to be declared to Toerisme Vlaanderen and to hold a positive fire safety certificate. Since 1 January 2026, Blankenberge's municipal tax has come on top of this regional obligation.
How much is the lodging tax in Blankenberge in 2026?
The lodging tax depends on capacity: €650 a year for 1 to 6 people, €1,000 for 7 to 12 people, €1,250 above that, and €450 per room let separately (municipal regulation of 16 December 2025, Article 4). It comes on top of the second-residence tax of €1,099, payable if no one is domiciled at the address on 1 January, i.e. €1,749 a year for a holiday apartment with no one domiciled there. Annual indexation from 2027.
Can you charge the lodging tax to guests?
Yes, up to €2.50 per person per night, only once per stay (Article 6 of the regulation). For 4 people, that is €10 per night. It takes around 65 nights let to four people to cover the lodging tax alone, and around 175 to cover the second-residence tax as well. Blankenberge does not levy a per-night tourist tax: this is an option to pass the cost on, not a separate tax on the guest.
Do the two municipal taxes add up in Blankenberge?
Yes. Unlike Knokke-Heist and Middelkerke, where switching to tourist accommodation takes the property out of the second-residence tax, Blankenberge applies both. The explanatory statement of the regulation says so expressly: the fact that a private dwelling is used as tourist accommodation does not affect its liability to tax as a second residence. An apartment equipped for 1 to 6 people, with no one domiciled at the address on 1 January, therefore pays €650 plus €1,099, i.e. €1,749 in 2026. If someone is domiciled there, only the lodging tax is due.
Do I have to pay the tax if my property is not let this year?
Yes, as long as the property remains offered for rent or listed in the Flemish register. The lodging tax is an indivisible annual flat rate, due even if the accommodation offered remains unoccupied or unpaid; only a permanent cessation or a transfer during the year triggers the calculation in twelfths under Article 8. The second-residence tax is payable by the owner as at 1 January, whether or not the property is let. The only exemptions are exhaustively listed in the regulations and do not cover a property that is rarely let.
Which fire safety certificate do you need to let in Blankenberge?
A positive fire safety certificate, issued after an inspection, in practice by ACEG on the coast. The inspection covers in particular optical EN 14604 smoke detectors with a sealed 10-year battery and the accommodation's escape routes.
Do I have to pay the tax if I host my family free of charge?
No. The City of Blankenberge specifies that the lodging tax does not apply if you let your family or friends stay free of charge. It targets accommodation offered for payment, in all its forms.
Can a property manager handle these formalities for me?
A property management company supports you with the Logiesdecreet declaration, fire safety compliance and factoring the tax into your pricing, but the obligations remain those of the accommodation's operator. You remain responsible for your property's compliance.
Sources
- City of Blankenberge, Belastingreglement op het logies, adopted by the municipal council on 16 December 2025, Articles 4 to 9.
- City of Blankenberge, Belastingreglement op de tweede verblijven, adopted by the municipal council on 16 December 2025, Articles 2, 4, 5 and 6.
- City of Blankenberge, "Belasting op het logies", blankenberge.be, accessed on 31 August 2026.
- VRT NWS, "Blankenberge heft nieuwe taks op vakantieverblijven", 17 December 2025.
- Focus-WTV, "Blankenberge voert nieuwe logiesbelasting in", December 2025.
- Decreet houdende het toeristische logies of 5 February 2016, in force since 1 April 2017, Vlaamse Codex.
- Toerisme Vlaanderen, aanmelding and brandveiligheidsattest obligations, toerismevlaanderen.be.
Photo credit. "Blankenberge - Stadhuis" by flamenc, Wikimedia Commons, licence CC BY-SA 3.0.
Related articles
- Airbnb property management in Blankenberge
- Logiesdecreet and registration number guide
- Fire safety certificate in Flanders
- Airbnb regulations in Belgium
About the author. Victor Timmermans is the founder of HOSTEA, a short-term rental property management company active along the entire Belgian coast, from De Panne to Knokke. He supports second-home owners with the listing, pricing and compliance of their tourist accommodation in Flanders.
Check your property's compliance in Blankenberge
Last updated: 8 September 2026. Changelog: 31 August 2026, article created; 8 September 2026, added the second-residence tax (€1,099) and the total municipal charge of €1,749, rates sourced from the text of the regulations of 16 December 2025, correction of the pass-through calculation.