Brussels relaxes accreditation rule for psychiatric care homes

The Assemblée réunie of the Commission communautaire commune of Brussels has relaxed the accreditation requirement for establishments that take charge of the target public of psychiatric care homes, through an ordinance of 23 July 2026 published in the Moniteur belge of 21 August 2026 under reference C-2026/005661. The text amends the ordinance of 23 November 2023 on psychiatric care homes (maisons de soins psychiatriques), easing the conditions under which such facilities may operate.

The ordinance was adopted by the Assemblée réunie and sanctioned by the Collège réuni, and was signed in Brussels on 18 July 2026. It regulates a matter falling under article 135 of the Constitution, as stated in its first article.

A lighter accreditation requirement

The core change is set out in article 2, which rewrites article 15 of the ordinance of 23 November 2023. The previous wording required establishments to have been “previously accredited in accordance with article 14 or previously authorized by the Collège réuni in accordance with article 5”. That condition is replaced by the simpler requirement to “hold an accreditation that allows adapted care for these persons”.

In practice, the reform removes the obligation of a prior, specific accreditation or authorization for facilities serving the target public of a psychiatric care home, substituting a general accreditation that permits adapted care. The change is intended to ease administrative burdens on mental-health operators while preserving the guarantee of appropriate care for patients.

Who is affected

The ordinance concerns establishments that take charge of the target public of a psychiatric care home, that is, the facilities and operators active in the mental-health sector in Brussels:

• psychiatric care homes and the establishments serving their target public;
• patients receiving adapted psychiatric care;
• mental-health operators and facility managers subject to the accreditation regime.

Legal basis and entry into force

Article 1 confirms that the ordinance regulates a matter assigned to the Commission communautaire commune under article 135 of the Constitution. The text was promulgated and ordered to be published in the Moniteur belge, and was signed by the Member of the Collège réuni in charge of Social Action, Health and the Civil Service.

The reform is part of a broader adjustment of the Brussels framework for psychiatric care, following the earlier ordinance of 23 November 2023 that established the accreditation regime for psychiatric care homes. By replacing the prior-accreditation requirement with a general accreditation allowing adapted care, the new ordinance gives operators greater flexibility while keeping the focus on the quality of care delivered to patients.

For readers, the change matters because it directly affects how psychiatric care homes and related establishments are recognized and regulated in the Brussels-Capital Region. Operators will no longer need a separate prior accreditation or authorization under the previous articles, simplifying the path to providing adapted psychiatric care, while patients retain the guarantee that the facilities caring for them hold an accreditation suited to their needs.

Source: Moniteur belge, N. 187, 21 August 2026, p. 45918 (official reference: C-2026/005661).