Following the successful sale of the "Zilveren Toren" office building in The Hague earlier this year, Buysse & Partners has raised more than €100 million in capital to support the continued growth of its residential platform in Belgium.

Local capital and a clear ambition

Buysse & Partners, an independent Belgian investment company, announces today that it has raised more than €100 million for Smart Living II, its second residential real estate fund. The capital was raised from Belgian and Dutch families. Over the next three to four years, the fund aims to double the size of its current portfolio. To support this ambition, the existing credit facilities have been refinanced, and the participating banks are providing a "hunting facility". With this financing structure in place, the fund will pursue further growth through both the acquisition of individual buildings and an active buy-and-build strategy. In line with this growth ambition, Smart Living II has already completed its first transaction with the purchase of a building on Sint-Jansstraat in Brussels.

The Belgian rental market is seeing a shift in ownership

The Belgian residential rental market is at a turning point. Private landlords are increasingly stepping back, discouraged by stricter energy standards, more complex rental regulations and the abolition, as of 1 January 2026, of the tax deductibility of mortgage interest on second homes. At the same time, demand for quality rental housing continues to grow, particularly in the major cities, where building permits for new developments take years to obtain and more and more people are deliberately choosing to rent rather than buy.

This shift creates structural opportunities for professional players who can operate at scale and manage their portfolios in-house. It is precisely in this segment that Smart Living II is positioning itself.

Building on five years of Smart Living I

Smart Living I was launched in 2021 with the ambition to help professionalise the Belgian rental market. Five years on, Buysse & Partners manages 22 buildings in Antwerp and Brussels through Smart Living I, totaling 585 residential units and generating annual rental income of more than €8 million. The portfolio has an occupancy rate of 100 percent. This makes Smart Living I the largest private player on the Belgian residential rental market today. Smart Living II continues that same strategy, on a larger scale.

"At a time when major real estate groups are under pressure and foreign institutional capital remains cautious, we see Belgian and Dutch families deliberately choosing to invest their wealth locally. In real estate they can see and understand, managed by a house they know and trust."

— Guy Mertens, Partner, Buysse & Partners

A distinctive approach: everything in-house

What sets Smart Living apart in the Belgian market is the choice to organise the entire management process in-house. From the search for suitable buildings to maintenance and day-to-day contact with tenants, everything is handled by an in-house team. For tenants, this takes place under the brand name “Jack”, a single point of contact for more than one thousand tenants in Antwerp and Brussels.

"Proximity and active management, that is what it is all about for us. We know our buildings, we know our tenants, and we can act quickly when needed. For us, that is the foundation of sustainable value creation."

— Julie De Bruyn, Partner, Buysse & Partners

With Smart Living II, Buysse & Partners confirms its ambition to further shape the professionalisation of the Belgian residential rental market, with local capital, a proven platform and a clear view of the future.

Buysse & Partners raises more than €100 million in fresh capital to further professionalise the residential rental market.