# Gym Subscription Law in Belgium 2027: Renewal Reminders

> Belgium's Law of 20 April 2026 makes gyms send a renewal reminder at least 15 days before the opt-out deadline from 1 May 2027. Here is what it requires, the FOD Economie rules already in force, and a checklist for contracts and reminders.

*Author: Trainera Team  |  Published: 2026-10-11  |  Reading time: 9 min*

## What does the new Belgian gym subscription law change in 2027?

From **1 May 2027**, a Belgian gym that sells a fixed-term membership with automatic (tacit) renewal must send each member a reminder at least **15 days before the deadline for refusing the renewal**. The rule comes from the Law of 20 April 2026 on various economic provisions, which amends article VI.91 of the Code of Economic Law. If the reminder is missing, the renewal cannot be enforced against the member, according to Belgian law firm summaries.

The existing FOD Economie rules for fitness centres stay in place on top of that: the renewal clause in bold on the first page, and cancellation at any time with at most two months' notice after the first renewal. This article covers both layers, what a gym has to change before May 2027, and where software helps or does not.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check your own contract terms with a Belgian lawyer or with the FOD Economie before you rely on them.

## What exactly does the Law of 20 April 2026 require?

It adds a reminder duty for B2C service contracts that have a fixed term of more than one month and renew tacitly. Article 5 of the [law as published in the Belgisch Staatsblad](https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/eli/wet/2026/04/20/2026003265/justel) inserts a new paragraph 1/1 into article VI.91; the consequences of a missing reminder come from the summary by the Belgian law firm [Flamée](https://www.flamee.be/kenniscentrum/particuliere-klanten-met-een-overeenkomst-hou-rekening-met-een-nieuwe-informatieverplichting).

| Element          | What the law asks                                                                                                                |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Which contracts  | Consumer service contracts with a fixed term over 1 month and a tacit renewal clause                                             |
| Timing           | At least 15 days before the deadline by which the consumer can refuse the renewal                                                |
| Medium           | A durable medium (for example an email or a letter, not only a banner in an app)                                                 |
| Content          | The upcoming renewal and the right to object to it, stated clearly; Flamée adds the cancellation arrangements                    |
| If it is missing | According to Flamée, the renewal cannot be enforced against the consumer                                                         |
| Start date       | 1 May 2027: article 5 applies from the first day of the twelfth month after publication in the Belgisch Staatsblad on 7 May 2026 |

Two details matter in practice. The 15 days count back from the **opt-out deadline**, not from the renewal date itself. If your contract says a member must refuse renewal one month before the end of a 12-month term, the reminder has to go out at least 15 days before that one-month cut-off, so roughly six weeks before the term ends.

Second, the sanction is commercial, not only a fine. According to Flamée, a member who never got the reminder is not bound by the renewal and can end the contract at no cost. For a gym with many annual contracts, that is a revenue risk, not a paperwork detail.

Belgian consumers are already searching for this: "fitness abonnement opzeggen nieuwe wet belgie" shows up in Google autocomplete.

## Which rules already apply to Belgian fitness centres today?

The current rules come from the Code of Economic Law and are summarised by the FOD Economie in its [7 questions about fitness centres](https://news.economie.fgov.be/246188-sportief-in-2025-ontdek-7-vragen-over-fitnesscentra) (23 January 2025). They do not disappear in 2027; the reminder duty is added on top.

| Rule (in force now)            | What it means for a gym                                                                                                                 |
| ------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Prices displayed legibly       | Also outside the premises, and on the website if contracts can be concluded online                                                      |
| No personal data before prices | You cannot ask for an email or phone number before showing the price                                                                    |
| Renewal clause visible         | A tacit renewal clause must be in bold on page 1 of the contract                                                                        |
| Cancelling after renewal       | After the first automatic renewal, the member may cancel at any time without penalty, with notice of at most 2 months                   |
| Direct debit                   | Domiciliëring is allowed for online subscriptions with explicit consent and a signed authorisation; in person, the gym must accept cash |
| Inspections                    | Since 2022 inspectors examined 51 facilities; 31 were non-compliant                                                                     |

That last line is worth reading twice. Thirty-one out of fifty-one is a majority. The inspectors are not looking for edge cases; they find the basics missing: prices hidden behind a sign-up form, renewal clauses in small print, notice periods longer than allowed.

The general rules on tacit renewal are also explained by the consumer service [ConsumerConnect](https://consumerconnect.be/nl/themas/aankoop-product-of-dienst/abonnementen/abonnementen/stilzwijgende-verlenging), and the self-employed organisation [NSZ](https://www.nsz.be/nl/nieuws/detail/stille-verlenging-van-uw-contracten-met-klanten-op-je-hoede-zijn-is-de-boodschap) confirms that the two-month maximum notice after a renewal stays as it is.

## Does the EU withdrawal button also apply to Belgian gyms?

Yes, for online sign-ups: since **19 June 2026** every trader that sells online in the EU must offer an electronic withdrawal function during the 14-day withdrawal period. It comes from article 11a of the Consumer Rights Directive, inserted by [Directive (EU) 2023/2673](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/2673/oj/eng).

So a Belgian gym with online membership sales now has three separate duties stacked on each other:

* a withdrawal function for the first 14 days after an online sign-up (since June 2026);
* a renewal reminder at least 15 days before the opt-out deadline (from May 2027);
* cancellation at any time with at most two months' notice once the contract has renewed (already in force).

They answer different moments in the membership. Mixing them up is the most common mistake I see in draft terms: a gym adds a "cancel online" link and assumes the reminder duty is covered. It is not. The reminder is something the gym sends, at a specific moment, with specific content.

## What should a Belgian gym change before 1 May 2027?

Start with the contracts that renew, then build the reminder process, then test it on real dates. A practical order:

1. **List every product that renews tacitly.** Annual memberships, six-month plans, PT packages with a renewal clause. Monthly rolling memberships with no fixed term above one month may fall outside the new rule, but check the wording with your lawyer.
2. **Find the opt-out deadline in each contract.** Write it as a rule: "the member must refuse renewal X days before the end date". Without this, you cannot calculate the reminder date.
3. **Calculate the reminder date per member.** End date minus opt-out period minus at least 15 days. Add a buffer of a few days for email problems.
4. **Write the reminder text.** It must say that the contract will renew, that the member has the right to refuse, and exactly how to cancel (address, email or online route). Keep the language the member signed up in: Dutch, French or German.
5. **Send it on a durable medium.** Email to the address on file is the usual choice. Keep a copy and the send date; if a member disputes a renewal, the proof is yours to show.
6. **Check the contract itself.** Renewal clause in bold on page 1, notice after renewal at most two months, prices visible without asking for personal data.
7. **Handle members who signed before May 2027.** The duty applies to renewals from 1 May 2027\. Ask your lawyer whether contracts signed earlier but renewing after that date need the reminder; the safe assumption is yes.

A small studio with 150 annual members on staggered start dates sends roughly a dozen reminders a month. That is manageable by hand for a while, but one missed month is one batch of renewals that may not hold.

## How do the old and new rules fit together over one membership year?

It helps to put the rules on a timeline for a single 12-month contract with a one-month opt-out period, signed online.

| Moment                       | Rule                                                                    | Who acts                                       |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Before sign-up               | Price visible without personal data; renewal clause in bold on page 1   | Gym (website, contract)                        |
| Day 1 to day 14              | EU withdrawal function for online contracts                             | Member may withdraw; gym provides the function |
| About 6 weeks before the end | Renewal reminder (at least 15 days before the 1-month opt-out deadline) | Gym sends, from 1 May 2027                     |
| 1 month before the end       | Opt-out deadline in the contract                                        | Member decides                                 |
| After the first renewal      | Cancel any time, no penalty, notice of at most 2 months                 | Member may cancel                              |

Read this way, the new law is less of a shock. It closes the gap between "the clause was in bold on page 1" and "the member actually knew the renewal was coming".

## Does VAT or payment method change anything here?

No, the reminder duty is about contract law, not tax or payments. For context: access to sport facilities in Belgium is taxed at 6%, and the planned rise to 12% was not applied to sport after the government's decision of 13 February 2026, as tracked by the sector body [Fitness.be](https://www.fitness.be/nl/btw-in-de-fitness-sector).

Payment method matters for one practical reason. A membership paid by domiciliëring keeps collecting until someone stops it, so the renewal date and the collection date are linked. If a member refuses renewal in time, the gym has to stop the mandate too. A membership paid upfront for a fixed period simply ends unless a new payment is made, which makes the renewal a visible event for both sides.

## Where Trainera fits for a Belgian gym

Trainera is gym software, and it is honest to say what it does and does not do for this law. It does not send the legal renewal reminder for you, it has no built-in withdrawal or cancellation button, and members cannot cancel a membership inside the app. The gym implements those duties in its own process and on its own website.

What it does cover:

* **Membership packages** with your own price in euro, duration and billing cycle, so each member's start and end dates are on record. That is the date list you need to calculate reminder dates.
* **Online card sales through your own Stripe account** with 0% Trainera platform fee. An online package purchase is a one-off card payment per package, not an automatically renewing card subscription, so Trainera never auto-charges a member at renewal.
* **Payments taken at the desk**, including cash, recorded against the member, which fits the FOD rule that in-person payment must allow cash.
* A digital member card with QR check-in, a Leads CRM with a 7-stage pipeline, a class planner and a gym website builder.

Trainera does not collect domiciliëring (SEPA Direct Debit) or Bancontact. A gym that wants either runs it through its own bank or payment provider and records the membership in Trainera.

| Gym plan (Belgium, monthly)                         | Price on trainera.fit/pricing |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Core                                                | from €109                     |
| White Label (own branded apps)                      | from €199                     |
| Studio (White Label + Community Plus + Automations) | from €239                     |
| Extra trainer after the 3 included                  | €14.99                        |

Yearly billing is 10 times the monthly price. More detail on running a Belgian gym on the software is in our guide to [gym software in Belgium](/blogs/gym-software-belgium), and the general mechanics of payments through your own Stripe account are in [gym payment software](/blogs/gym-payment-software).

## Common mistakes Belgian gyms make with renewals

Most problems are not about bad intent. They come from contracts written years ago and never updated.

* **Notice periods of three months after renewal.** The maximum is two months. A longer clause is not enforceable as written.
* **Renewal clause on page 3.** It has to be in bold on page 1.
* **Reminder sent too late.** From May 2027, a reminder sent 10 days before the opt-out deadline does not meet the 15-day minimum.
* **Reminder without the "how to cancel" part.** The member must learn how to refuse, not only that renewal is coming.
* **Price only after an email address.** The FOD says prices must be visible before you ask for personal data.

The Dutch rules work differently: there, a contract may only renew for an indefinite period with at most one month's notice. If you run clubs on both sides of the border, compare them in our sibling article on [gym membership cancellation in the Netherlands](/blogs/gym-membership-cancellation-netherlands). For the German approach, see [gym contract cancellation rules in Germany](/blogs/gym-contract-cancellation-rules-germany).

## A checklist you can use before May 2027

Print this and tick it off per contract type.

* Renewal clause in bold on page 1 of every contract template.
* Notice after the first renewal: at most two months, no penalty.
* Opt-out deadline written down per product.
* Reminder date calculated per member: opt-out deadline minus at least 15 days.
* Reminder text in the member's language, with renewal, right to object and how to cancel.
* Reminder sent by email or letter, with a saved copy and date.
* Online withdrawal function live for the first 14 days of online sign-ups.
* Prices visible on the website and at the entrance without asking for personal data.
* Cash accepted for in-person payments; direct debit only with explicit consent and signed authorisation.

If you also send automated renewal messages for retention, our playbook on [renewal reminder automation](/blogs/gym-membership-renewal-reminder-automation) covers timing and wording, separate from the legal reminder. And if you coach clients alongside the gym, the price side is covered in [personal trainer cost in Belgium](/blogs/personal-trainer-cost-belgium).

_Run memberships, check-ins and card sales through your own Stripe account: see [Trainera for gyms](/for-gyms)._

## FAQ

### What is the new law on gym subscriptions in Belgium?

The Law of 20 April 2026 amends article VI.91 of the Code of Economic Law. From 1 May 2027, a business with a fixed-term consumer service contract over one month that renews tacitly must send a reminder on a durable medium at least 15 days before the opt-out deadline. Without it, according to Belgian law firm summaries, the renewal cannot be enforced against the consumer.

### Can I cancel my gym membership at any time in Belgium?

After the first automatic renewal, yes. The FOD Economie says the member may then cancel at any time without penalty, with a notice period of at most two months. Before that, the original fixed term applies, apart from the 14-day withdrawal right for online sign-ups.

### How much notice do I have to give to cancel a gym in Belgium?

After a tacit renewal, the notice period may be at most two months. Your contract can set a shorter period but not a longer one. Check the opt-out deadline in your contract for the first term.

### Does a Belgian gym have to show its prices online?

Only if contracts can be concluded online. Prices must also be shown legibly outside the premises, and a gym may not ask for personal data before showing its prices, according to the FOD Economie.

### Does Trainera send the legal renewal reminder for Belgian gyms?

No. Trainera stores membership packages with start and end dates and sells packages online by card through the gym's own Stripe account, but the legal reminder and any cancellation function are the gym's own process. Online package purchases are one-off payments, not auto-renewing subscriptions.

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Source: https://trainera.fit/blogs/gym-subscription-law-belgium-2027