Van life in Belgium: rules, registration and stays

Belgium's low-emission zones have moved in opposite directions for 2026, and travellers should not assume they track together. In the Brussels-Capital Region, the LEZ tightened as scheduled: since 1 January 2026, Euro 5 diesel and Euro 2 petrol vehicles (cars, vans, buses, lorries and, for petrol, motorcycles below Euro 3) no longer meet the zone's access criteria, covering all 19 Brussels communes but not the ring road; a grace period held back fines for vehicles newly excluded by this change until 1 April 2026 (a warning letter first), while vehicles already excluded before 2026 face the standard €350 fine immediately. In Flanders, by contrast, the regional government reversed course: the tightening due in Antwerp and Ghent for 2026 (and a further step planned for 2028) was withdrawn, so Euro 5 diesel and Euro 2 petrol vehicles remain admitted there for now, with a two-yearly air-quality review to reassess. A vehicle excluded from Brussels from January 2026 may therefore still be welcome in Antwerp or Ghent on the same day.

Belgium's federal traffic code does not itself prohibit sleeping in a vehicle that is otherwise legally parked, and a motorhome parks under the same rules as an ordinary car unless a location-specific sign says otherwise. The E9a sign permits parking for all vehicle categories where the marked bay is large enough for a motorhome; the E9h sign reserves a bay specifically for motorhomes to the exclusion of other vehicles. A separate durational rule limits any vehicle heavier than 7.5 tonnes to at most 8 hours parked in a built-up area unless the location carries a sign lifting that cap — relevant to the heaviest motorhomes. What the federal code does ban nationwide is 'camping behaviour' — an awning out, chairs or a table deployed, waste discharged onto the public road — regardless of location. On top of that federal baseline, individual communes add their own restrictions: the City of Brussels' general police regulation is reported to cap sleeping, lodging or camping in a vehicle on public space at 24 consecutive hours without authorisation, and Antwerp is reported to restrict overnight motorhome stays to specifically designated locations only. Because each Belgian commune can add its own bylaw on top of the federal baseline, the specific municipality's rule — not the national default — is what actually governs a given stop.