From 1 October 2026, Meta charges for service messages sent through the WhatsApp Business Platform, beyond 1,000 free messages per month and per number. The cost remains modest for an agency; the real issues lie elsewhere: tenants’ consent, the ID documents that WhatsApp’s policy forbids requesting, and the internal groups that the Data Protection Authority has already addressed with a warning.

What changes on 1 October 2026?

According to Meta’s documentation, updated on 25 August 2026, Meta will charge for all service messages from 1 October 2026, on a per-message basis. These messages had not been charged since 1 November 2024. Utility messages sent in response to a user, within the 24-hour customer service window, also become chargeable; they had been free since 1 July 2025. On 10 September 2026, Meta added a free tier: each business phone number has 1,000 free delivered service messages per month, which do not roll over. Meta also warns that businesses without a payment method on file by 30 September 2026 will no longer be able to send service messages. For Belgium, classified in the “Rest of Western Europe” zone, the rate card applicable from 1 October sets a service message at EUR 0.0142. Beyond the 1,000 free messages, 1,000 additional service messages cost about EUR 14.

These rules concern the WhatsApp Business Platform, meaning messages sent through an API, by software or a provider. A 72-hour free window still exists, but only when the conversation starts from a “Click to WhatsApp” ad or a Facebook Page button. Messages generated by Meta’s AI agent (Meta Business Agent), charged since 1 August 2026 at 2 US dollars per million tokens, do not benefit from this free window.

Yes, according to the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, updated on 23 September 2026. A business may only contact a person on WhatsApp if two conditions are met. The person gave the business their phone number or username. The business received their opt-in confirming that they wish to receive messages or calls from it. The policy states that the business is solely responsible for the method used to obtain this opt-in. It does not require it to be in writing. For an agency, the simplest evidence remains a clause in the lease or the move-in form, with a separate tick box. The tenant agrees there to be contacted on WhatsApp for the management of their home. This opt-in does not replace a legal basis under the GDPR for processing their data. The agency must identify and document that basis, separate from the opt-in WhatsApp requires.

Can an ID document be requested via WhatsApp?

No, according to WhatsApp’s own policy. It forbids sharing or asking people to share full payment card numbers, financial account numbers, personal ID card numbers or other sensitive identifiers. This is a contractual rule of Meta, not a law. But it matches the caution required by data protection. A copy of an ID card, a pay slip or an IBAN sent in a conversation stays on the property manager’s phone, in its backups, and sometimes in the groups where the conversation is forwarded. The agency no longer controls how long it is kept, or who can access it. For rental applicants, the documents that may be requested, and when, are set by regional law. Our article on documents allowed by region details these rules, and the one on income of three times the rent the solvency criterion. The prudent practice is simple: no ID document and no financial document by messaging, but a dedicated channel where access is controlled.

What does the DPA hold against professional WhatsApp groups?

On 27 January 2026, the Litigation Chamber of the Belgian Data Protection Authority issued a warning (decision 10/2026) to an employer. A student worker had complained: a supervisor had forwarded screenshots of a conversation to a work-related WhatsApp group on 7 January 2025. The DPA finds a sharing without a legal basis under the GDPR. It recalls that processing by employees is presumed to take place under the employer’s authority. It considers that the employer risks breaching its accountability obligations, for lack of sufficient technical and organisational measures. The warning requires it to draw up and apply a data protection policy for its supervisors. It is not a decision on the merits, and no fine was imposed. For an agency, a property manager who shares in the team group a screenshot of a tenant’s message, an inventory photo or an applicant’s name commits the agency. The expected response is the same: a written policy on what may circulate, and where.

And beyond WhatsApp?

On 12 May 2026, the DPA announced fines in other cases linked to communications. SWDE received EUR 86,000 in fines: EUR 85,000 for recording calls to its call centre without sufficiently informing callers, and EUR 1,000 for the lack of a processing agreement. A large technology company was fined EUR 176,000 for keeping a former employee’s mailbox after she left: a little over EUR 160,000 for unlawful processing, about EUR 16,000 for lack of transparency. These cases do not concern WhatsApp, but they involve situations an agency knows well: tenants’ calls and the mailbox of a property manager leaving the agency.

What rules should the agency set?

  1. Obtain each tenant’s opt-in before writing to them on WhatsApp, and keep it.
  2. Ban sensitive documents by messaging: ID card, pay slip, IBAN, bank documents.
  3. Frame internal groups: no screenshots of tenant conversations, no identifiable property photos without need, no applicant names.
  4. Move the request out of the conversation once it is qualified: maintenance job, file or ticket attached to the property.
  5. Check the contract with the provider giving access to the WhatsApp platform: who pays for messages, and which payment method is on file before 30 September.
  6. Plan for a property manager’s departure: conversations and numbers belong to the agency, not to a personal phone.

Scams targeting landlords often go through messages and fake documents: see our article on landlord scams. If a chatbot answers tenants on WhatsApp, it must also present itself as an AI, as explained in our article on the AI Act and agencies.

How does Seido handle WhatsApp requests?

Managing several properties? In Seido, requests received by WhatsApp, e-mail or SMS arrive in a single queue. Each is timestamped and attached to the right unit and the right tenant, with its history. A colleague can pick up a file with the full thread, without asking the tenant again. The WhatsApp channel is included in AI triage: the agency pays no extra charge per message. And rather than an internal group, manager, tenant and contractor follow the job in portals with separate access rights, where each sees what concerns them. See how Seido’s channel centralisation works.

Frequently asked questions

Do all WhatsApp messages to tenants become chargeable?

No. Service messages, meaning free-form replies within the 24-hour window opened by the tenant, are charged from 1 October 2026. But each business number has 1,000 free service messages per month. Beyond that, the Belgian rate is EUR 0.0142 per message. Template messages, such as reminders sent on the agency’s initiative, were already charged according to their category.

Which messages remain free?

Two cases remain free on the WhatsApp Business Platform. First, the first 1,000 service messages delivered each month, per business number; unused messages do not roll over to the next month. Second, all messages sent within a 72-hour window opened from a “Click to WhatsApp” ad or a Facebook Page button, except those of Meta’s AI agent. For an agency that mainly answers tenants’ requests, the first case is the most common.

Must the tenant’s opt-in be in writing?

WhatsApp’s policy requires an opt-in but leaves the business solely responsible for the method used to obtain it. It does not require writing. The agency nevertheless has an interest in being able to prove this opt-in: a clause in the lease or the move-in form, with a separate tick box, is the simplest record.

Has the DPA already sanctioned a real estate agency over WhatsApp?

We found no published DPA decision targeting a real estate agency for its use of WhatsApp. Decision 10/2026 concerns an employer and a student worker: it is a warning, without a fine, requiring an internal policy. Its reasoning applies to any company whose employees share personal data in messaging groups.

What should be done with the conversations of a property manager who leaves?

They must remain accessible to the agency if they concern property management, then be deleted once no longer necessary. DPA decision 101/2026 shows the opposite risk: a company was sanctioned for keeping a former employee’s mailbox for a year after she left. A written rule on numbers, conversations and their retention avoids both pitfalls.

Sources and references

Last updated: September 2026. This article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For any specific situation, consult a data protection professional.