Rats Infest Brussels Palace of Justice as Crisis Worsens

The Brussels Palace of Justice, one of Belgium’s most iconic buildings and the largest courthouse in Europe when completed in 1883, is suffering from a severe and worsening rat infestation that has now spread from the staff restaurant into office spaces, according to a report by Het Laatste Nieuws. A specialized pest control company has been hired to combat the rodents but has been unsuccessful so far.

Background of Neglect

The rat problem is the latest chapter in a decades-long saga of decay at the Palace of Justice. The building’s exterior renovation began in 1984 — over 42 years ago — and the scaffolding has been in place so long that it has itself required restoration. The facade restoration, which started in earnest in October 2023, is expected to be complete by 2030, with full interior and exterior renovation not expected until 2040.

According to VRT NWS, total renovation costs are estimated at over 600 million euros — approximately 100 million euros for the facade and 480 million euros for the interior. Since 2018, roughly 28.5 million euros has already been spent on studies, scaffolding, and initial facade work.

How the Infestation Spread

The rat infestation began in the staff restaurant, which was closed in November 2025 after a food safety inspection by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FAVV) found “serious infractions” of European food hygiene regulations, as Bruzz reported. With the restaurant shut, employees have been eating at their desks — and the rats have followed, attracted by the food.

“The rats initially concentrated in the staff restaurant but have now spread into office spaces,” the report states. The pest control company brought in to address the problem has so far been unable to contain the outbreak.

A Cascade of Problems

The rat infestation is far from the only issue plaguing the building. In late August 2025, a ceiling collapsed in a youth chamber of the Court of Appeal. No injuries occurred as it happened during the judicial holiday, but the courtroom is still occasionally used when other rooms are unavailable. A safety net has been installed, but staff say they have received no confirmation that the underlying cause has been fixed.

Annelien Verschaeve, a commercial judge at the Brussels Court of Appeal, told HLN: “Whether the cause of the collapse was fixed, we don’t know. They try to avoid using that courtroom, but occasionally, depending on the availability of other rooms, it is still necessary.”

Water damage has also rendered a section of the registry of the Chamber of Indictment unsafe and unusable, with 3 to 4 centimeters of standing water on the floor. Staff report receiving no communication from the responsible authorities — the FOD Justitie (Federal Public Service Justice) or the Regie der Gebouwen (Building Authority) — about the status of repairs.

Meanwhile, a leak in a heating pipe caused water to drip into a staff member’s office, requiring the ceiling to be dismantled. Employees entering through the parking garage are confronted with garbage and pigeon droppings, both in sight and smell, with requests for cleaning going unanswered.

Broader Implications

The state of the Palace of Justice has become a symbol of broader governance failures in Belgium. Dirk Van Gerven, former President of the Bar of Brussels and board member of the Poelaert Foundation, which oversees the preservation of the building, told VRT NWS: “People often work there in rooms with mold, rats run around — that’s not normal working conditions.”

Van Gerven defended the 600-million-euro renovation cost, arguing that the building is a monument and that the infrastructure must be adapted to the justice system of the future. However, he called the decades of delay “scandalous.”

Britt Huybrechts, a member of parliament for the Vlaams Belang party, described the renovation dossier as symbolic of “the incompetence of the federal government to efficiently manage large infrastructure and heritage projects.”

In November 2025, staff published an open letter declaring that “the rule of law is no longer a priority,” warning that “courthouses are outdated, sometimes downright unworthy. Hearings are canceled due to power outages, victims and defendants sometimes wait months or years for a verdict.”

What’s Next

With the facade restoration expected to be complete by 2030 and full renovation not anticipated until 2040, the immediate outlook for the building’s occupants remains grim. The rat infestation, combined with structural hazards, water damage, and poor communication from authorities, has created a working environment that staff describe as unworthy of a modern justice system.

The situation raises pressing questions about accountability: Who bears ultimate responsibility for the neglect — the FOD Justitie, the Regie der Gebouwen, or successive governments? And can the 2040 completion target be met, given the track record of delays spanning more than four decades?

For now, the approximately 1,000 employees working in the building continue to navigate a workplace where collapsing ceilings, flooding, and roaming rats have become part of daily life.