Frequently asked questions

Your bicycle may have been stolen. We advise you to file a theft report. You can do this online at the e-counter of the Police or at your local police station.

Bicycle centres and depots do not offer a repair service. For repairs please visit a bicycle shop or other repair point.

All (moped) bicycles held at a Bicycle Centre/depot can be found on www.verlorenofgevonden.be. Search for your bicycle there using the best possible description: brand, colour, type (e.g. men's bicycle, ladies' bicycle, folding bicycle), engraving number, Velo or KUL number.

The following information does not apply to every city in Belgium.

Did you park your bicycle in a bicycle shed and can you no longer find it? There are 2 possibilities:

• If your bicycle was incorrectly parked, it is likely that an employee has moved it to the correct place in the shed. In that case, look for your bicycle elsewhere in the shed (usually at the back).
• It is also possible that your bicycle has been stolen. You can file a (online) theft report at the e-counter of the Police or at your local police station.

This depends on the location. Click here for more information about the storage period for bicycles in Leuven. Click here for more information about the storage period for bicycles in Antwerp.

The costs for collecting your (moped) bicycle vary by city. Please consult your city's website for more information.

Register your bicycle with MyBike, the central database of the federal government. Thanks to a sticker with a personal QR code, the police can find your bicycle more quickly if it is stolen. The platform is free and works for both new and second-hand bicycles.

How does MyBike work?

• Create an account on MyBike with Itsme or your eID.
• Register your bicycle's details on your account.
• You will receive a sticker with a QR code by post. Attach it to your bicycle.
• On the MyBike website you can store all details of your bicycle.
• If your bicycle is stolen, you can file a theft report via the website.

Is your bicycle already marked? Then you can also register it with MyBike to be included in a national database, increasing the chance of recovery.

The Bicycle Centre Leuven does not sell bicycles. Fietspunt Leuven and the prevention service organise an annual private second-hand bicycle market during the car-free Sunday.

If you want to reduce the risk of your bicycle being stolen, invest in a good lock. A good lock is made of hardened steel and is large enough to secure your bicycle to a bicycle rack. Two locks are always safer than one!

You may not expect it, but there is a separate law devoted to the rights and obligations of citizens regarding lost and found items. If you find something there are legal consequences attached. This law stipulates that the municipality (not the police) is responsible for the storage, registration and management of lost and found items. Below you will find a clarification of the law. Since 1/9/2021 the finder may keep the item themselves, in which case they are liable for its storage.

NEW LEGISLATION SINCE 1 September 2021. Civil Code – Book 3 – Title 3: Property Rights – Subtitle 2

Art. 3.58

The finder of a movable item must make reasonable efforts to find the owner. If they cannot identify or find that person, they must file a report of the find at a municipality of their choice, preferably where the item was found, no later than seven days after the find, unless they have serious reason to fear for their safety or freedom. The municipality enters the find in the designated register. The finder may keep the item themselves or entrust it to the municipality. If they keep it themselves, they are liable for its storage. The municipality that receives the item takes it into custody.

Art. 3.59

If the owner or another person entitled to claim the item demands its return, they must reimburse reasonable storage, preservation and tracing costs. The finder or municipality has a right of retention until those costs are paid. If the owner reclaims the item, the finder who has fulfilled all obligations is entitled to a reasonable reward. The item remains the property of its owner. If the owner is unknown, they may reclaim the item or its proceeds within five years of registration in the municipal register. After that period their ownership rights lapse. If the owner is unknown, the finder may dispose of the item six months after registration. In the event of a sale, they must hold the proceeds available for the owner until the five-year period has expired. The finder who has entrusted the item to the municipality loses their rights if they do not reclaim it within three months of the municipality's notification.

Art. 3.60

If the found item is perishable, if storage is unreasonably expensive, or if it is not claimed within six months of registration, the municipality may sell it or, if that is not possible, transfer it for free or destroy it. In the event of a sale, the municipality holds the proceeds for five years from registration for whoever is entitled to them. After that period the proceeds go to the municipality. If the found item is an animal, Articles 3.61 and 3.62 apply. The King may set conditions for the application of this article.

The new property rights law stipulates that the municipality (not the police) is responsible for the storage, registration and management of found items. New since 1/9/2021 is that the finder may keep the item themselves, in which case they are liable for its storage.

You are obliged to make reasonable efforts to find the owner. If you cannot find them, you must file a report no later than 7 days after the find at a municipality of your choice, preferably the municipality where the item was found, which will enter it in the designated register.

Since 1 September 2021 you may keep a found item at home after making reasonable efforts to find the owner. If you cannot find them, you must file a report no later than 7 days after the find at a municipality of your choice, preferably where the item was found, which will enter it in the designated register. If you keep the item yourself, you are also liable for its storage.

If the owner is not found after 6 months you may dispose of the item, but the item remains the property of the owner who may reclaim the item or its proceeds up to 5 years after the find.

Your personal details will not appear on the website. They are only known to the municipality where you filed the report.

You can report finding an item via the verlorenofgevonden.be website. You must include one or more photos to make the find known. The report will be registered with the municipality. You will receive a confirmation with the municipality's contact details. The item will then appear on the verlorenofgevonden.be website.

If the owner is unknown, you may dispose of the item after 6 months from registration in the municipal register. In the event of a sale, you must hold the proceeds available for the owner until the five-year period has expired.

If the owner is unknown, you become the owner of the item 5 years after registration in the municipal register.

In general a found item remains the property of its original owner. The owner may reclaim the item or its proceeds. They are obliged to reimburse reasonable storage, preservation and tracing costs. You have a right of retention (the right to withhold return) until that obligation has been fulfilled.

If as a finder you have fulfilled all obligations, you are entitled to a reasonable reward from the owner, depending on the circumstances.

You can report the loss of an item via the verlorenofgevonden.be website. The report will be registered with the municipality. You will receive a confirmation with the municipality's contact details.

Every person who takes in a stray, lost or abandoned animal is required to entrust it within four days to the municipal authority of the place where they took it in or of their place of residence.

The municipal authority will immediately entrust the animal, as the case may be, to:

• a person who ensures proper care and accommodation;
• an animal shelter or zoo.

If the animal is entrusted by the municipal authority to an animal shelter or zoo, or surrendered to a person, the animal must be kept available to its former owner for at least 45 days. For dogs this period is 15 days.

After these periods have expired, the holder becomes the rightful owner by operation of law.

The owner of a stray, lost or abandoned animal owes compensation for intake, care and custody costs, regardless of whether the owner reclaims the animal. If the animal was placed by the municipality with a person, in a zoo or in a shelter, the costs will be recovered from them by the municipal authority.

Would you like your organisation to join this website and participate in this initiative? Click here

Verlorenofgevonden.be is an initiative of the local Police Leuven, KU Leuven, the City of Leuven and vzw Velo to create, as in the Netherlands, a single national website in Belgium. It is a place where found (moped) bicycles and items are published and where the owner can easily find their belongings. Antwerp has since also joined and the platform has been further improved.

All information about bicycles in Antwerp can be found on the City of Antwerp website. Here you will find information about bicycle parking, labelling bicycles, abandoned or found bicycles, etc.

This website has been tested against the standard.