Brussels relaxes fire safety standards for senior care facilities

The Joint College of the Common Community Commission of Brussels-Capital has doubled the validity period of fire safety certificates for elderly care facilities and postponed their compliance deadline by two years. The Order of the Joint College of September 10, 2026, published in the Belgian Official Gazette on September 18, 2026, under reference [C − 2026/006814] (p. 50783), amends two orders dated March 7, 2024. Furthermore, the competent fire safety commission is now under the responsibility of Iriscare.

Two 2024 orders revised

The text is based on the Ordinance of April 24, 2008, relating to elderly care facilities, specifically articles 11, § 1, paragraph 5, 7°, 12, § 1, and 19/5. It amends the Order of the Joint College of March 7, 2024, establishing the specific fire safety standards to which elderly care facilities must comply and the Order of the Joint College of March 7, 2024, establishing a fire safety commission for elderly care facilities.

The file was processed based on several prior opinions and analyses:

• opinion of the Fire Safety Commission for Elderly Care Facilities of June 3, 2026;
• opinion of the Health and Personal Assistance Management Council of the Bicommunal Office for Health, Personal Assistance and Family Benefits of June 23, 2026;
• equal opportunities impact analysis conducted on May 21, 2026;
• request for an opinion from the Council of State on July 1, 2026, registered under number 79.695/16 and struck from the roll on July 8, 2026.

Validity of certificates extended from one to two years

Article 1 of the order replaces, in Article 4, § 2, paragraph 1, of the order of March 7, 2024, establishing the standards, the words “of one year” with the words “of two years”. Article 2 makes the same substitution in Article 8, § 1, paragraph 1, of the same order.

In practical terms, the validity period of fire safety certificates issued to elderly care facilities therefore increases from one year to two years.

Compliance deadline postponed to January 1, 2028

Article 4 amends Article 16 of the order establishing the standards on two points:

• in paragraph 1, the date “September 1, 2026” is replaced by “January 1, 2028”;
• a paragraph is added, specifying that the initial validity period of fire safety certificates B obtained by facilities between September 1, 2024, and September 1, 2026, is extended to two years.

Fire safety commission transferred to Iriscare

Several provisions transfer the competence of the Common Community Commission and its administration to Iriscare:

• in Article 11, paragraph 2, of the decree establishing the standards, the words “of the Common Community Commission” are replaced by the words “of Iriscare”;
• in Article 1 of the decree establishing the commission, the provision under 2° is repealed;
• in Article 5, paragraph 1, of the same decree, 1° is replaced: the commission is chaired by a member of Iriscare staff possessing relevant scientific or technical skills;
• in Articles 9 and 13, the words “by the administration” and “of the administration” are replaced by “by Iriscare” and “of Iriscare”.

Entry into force and signatures

The decree takes effect on September 1, 2026. It was drafted in consultation with the Fire and Emergency Medical Assistance Service of the Brussels-Capital Region, on the proposal of the members of the Joint College in charge of Social Action, Health, and the Civil Service. It is signed in Brussels on September 10, 2026, by D. De Smedt and A. Laaouej.

For managers of elderly care facilities in the Brussels region, the schedule is therefore relaxed: fire safety certificates are now valid for two years, type B certificates obtained since September 2024 benefit from the same extension, and the compliance obligation is postponed to January 1, 2028. The administrative follow-up of the files changes hands and reverts to Iriscare, which now chairs the fire safety commission.

Source: Belgian Official Gazette of September 18, 2026, decree of the Joint College of the Common Community Commission of September 10, 2026, [C − 2026/006814], p. 50783.