Legal aid

Some landlords do favours for their tenants in difficulty by reducing or abolishing private or economic rents.

This is an agreement between the parties, and the tenant's agreement can be reached very quickly. However, to avoid any surprises, accept the agreement reached or concluded in writing.

In other circumstances, a simple interest-free deferment is negotiated. For example, the three months of the second quarter are spread over twelve months starting in September.

During this period of moratorium on bankruptcy, contracts concluded before the entry into force of the Royal Decree may not be terminated unilaterally or by court order, although this is not obligatory.

All contractual nullity clauses in the event of non-payment are suspended. This is a fundamental measure that can have cascading consequences. Many contracts (for supplies, equipment, services, etc.) contain unilateral or legal termination clauses in the event of non-payment.

For the purposes of holding general assemblies, the administrative body may, even in the absence of any statutory authorisation, require participants in any general assembly to exercise their rights exclusively:

• by voting remotely before the General Assembly (GA) by post; and
• by giving a proxy before the General Assembly, in accordance with the provisions of the Belgian Code on Companies and Associations (BCCA) (unless otherwise stipulated).

For public limited companies, the administrative body makes a form available or publishes it on a website.

In the case of other legal entities, they shall comply with their articles of association or, in the absence of provisions in their articles of association, they shall adopt provisions similar to those applicable to public limited companies.

Participants may send any documents required for the GA to the address indicated by the legal entity, by any means, including by e-mail accompanied by a scanned or photographed copy of the form or proxy form, completed and signed.​

Participants may send any documents required for the GA to the address indicated by the legal entity, by any means, including by e-mail accompanied by a scanned or photographed copy of the form or proxy form, completed and signed.​

It may be required that only written questions be put to the GA, and also that shareholders or members submit their questions no later than the fourth day before the date of the GA.

The administrative body answers these questions in writing no later than the day of the General Assembly but before the vote, or orally at the General Assembly if it chooses to organise a live or recorded broadcast of the meeting by telephone or video conference accessible to all persons entitled to participate in the General Assembly.

For General Assemblies whose decisions must be recorded in a notarial deed, it is sufficient for one member of the administrative body, duly authorised, or any other person designated by him in a power of attorney, to appear in person before the notary for the purpose of signing the deed.

If the administrative body so wishes, it may postpone the Ordinary General Assembly or, in the case of foundations, the approval of the annual accounts, for ten weeks, even if the General Assembly has already been convened.

Any decision of a collegiate administrative body may, notwithstanding any provision of the Articles of Association to the contrary, be taken by unanimous consent of all the members, expressed in writing or by any other means of communication referred to in article 2281 of the Civil Code.

Any meeting of a collegiate administrative body may, even in the absence of any authorisation under the Articles of Association and notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, be held by means of telecommunication techniques enabling collective deliberation, such as telephone or video conferences.

In the case of administrative bodies whose decisions must be recorded in a notarial deed, it is sufficient for a single duly authorised member of the administrative body or any other person appointed by the administrative body by virtue of a proxy to appear physically before the notary.

In the event of a postponement of the General Assembly, the term of office of the trustees and members of the co-ownership councils appointed by decision of the General Assembly which expire during this period is extended by operation of law until the first General Assembly to be held after this period.

In the event of a postponement of the General Assembly and until the first General Assembly to be held after this period, the contract between the managing agent and the co-owners' association is extended by operation of law. The managing agent exercises his powers in accordance with the decisions of the last General Assembly and in compliance with the budget approved at that meeting.

If the General Assembly is postponed, the period of validity of the tasks and delegations of authority entrusted to the co-ownership council by the General Assembly is extended until the first subsequent General Assembly of co-owners.

An amicable debt payment plan is nothing more than a settlement plan agreed between two or more parties. No formality or mention is required or imposed by law, apart from the conventional rules of civil law.

There are, however, plans with a judicial ‘safeguard’ phase: the judicial reorganisation plan (JRP) for businesses and the collective debt settlement for individual consumers. Entrepreneurs do not have access to the collective debt settlement as long as they have this status.

Both legal proceedings are often (and strongly recommended) preceded by an amicable composition phase with the creditors, who are asked for, and sometimes granted, payment deadlines.

It is recommended that you present a complete plan to creditors, covering all the company's debts, as well as private debts for personal operators.