Building ventilation requirements and inspection in Belgium

In Belgium, the requirements for ventilation in buildings can be found in national ventilation standards, national health regulation and in regional environmental regulations and EPB regulations (Energy Performance and Indoor Climate). In 2006 the latter regulations were introduced for the first time including mandatory requirements for ventilation. From then on it was mandatory for all new and renovated, both residential and non-residential buildings for which a building permit is necessary to install a natural or mechanical ventilation system for acceptable indoor air quality.  This paper further discusses the present ventilation requirements in buildings (both residential and non-residential), current trends in the Belgian building ventilation market, energy requirements, requirements for inspection of the systems, innovations in the market and the impact of Covid-19. 
Although standards and guidelines are generally published at a national level in Belgium, building energy performance regulation is a regional matter, including ventilation requirements. This means that each of the three regions – Flemish, Brussels Capital and Walloon Region – can have a different approach. Although most regulations are similar, some parts of the regulation, for instance in relation to inspection, don’t apply in all regions. The paper mentions the differences between the regions when this is the case.