News item | 6/16/2023 | 4:49 pm
More and more people are making their homes more sustainable. This is evident from the progress report Accelerating the sustainability of the built environment (PVGO). Last year, natural gas consumption in homes dropped by about 15 percent, about 100,000 heat pumps were installed, the number of subsidy applications doubled and more than two hundred thousand homes received a better energy label. To accelerate sustainability even further, and because everyone must be able to participate, the government has put together an additional package of 900 million euros especially for lower and middle incomes. In this way, a sustainable home becomes affordable for everyone and the energy bill can be reduced for everyone. Up to and including 2030, a total of 13 billion euros will be invested in sustainability measures for the entire built environment. On top of that there will be 1.5 billion euros for making homes in Groningen more sustainable.
A sustainable house is not only good for the climate, but also for the wallet. This reduces energy consumption and lowers energy bills. The value of a home also rises and there is less influence from suddenly rising energy prices, such as last winter. When someone uses a subsidy, the measures pay for themselves even faster. Someone can pay for sustainability with savings, but also (partly) finance with an Energy Saving Loan from the National Heat Fund. Due to the low interest rate and long term, such a loan can be paid back through savings on the energy bill.
Borrow interest-free
Financing via the Heat Fund is now even more attractive for many people. Middle income earners with an aggregate income of up to 60,000 euros can now borrow interest-free. We see that this works. The number of interest-free energy savings loans for this target group has more than doubled in the past period. Homeowners who cannot obtain a loan can now obtain financing of up to 10,000 euros through the Heat Fund. They pay monthly costs according to their ability to pay. Can’t they contribute? Then they pay no interest and no repayment. Those who sell their house only pay back this loan if there is surplus value. Finally, it will also be easier and cheaper for 125,000 VvEs (1.2 million homes) to borrow from the National Heat Fund. They will pay 1.5 percent less interest on an VvE Energy Saving Loan via the Heat Fund.
Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Housing and Spatial Planning): “We are seeing an enormous acceleration in the sustainability of houses and buildings. That is of course positive! It should be affordable for everyone to take that step as well. That is why we are making financing measures even more attractive. This way everyone can participate and work towards lower energy bills.”
Acceleration of sustainability in built sustainability
The government aims to insulate 2.5 million homes before 2030, with a focus on the 1.5 million poorly insulated homes. Last year, the number of homes with bad E, F and G labels fell by about 55,000. There are now about 1.4 million of these types of poorly insulated homes. Of this, 0.5 million is a rented house. These must be made sustainable to at least a D label by 2029, because from that moment on a rental ban applies to homes with labels E, F and G. Last year, the number of homes with C and D labels also decreased by about 75,000, while the number of homes with an A label or better has increased by no less than 200,000. The number of applications for the Sustainable Energy and Energy Saving Investment Subsidy (ISDE) has also doubled. And that increase will continue in the first four months of this year. Sales of heat pumps in particular show strong growth. In 2022, 100,000 will be installed, of which 50,000 in existing buildings, and in the first quarter of 2023 sales will already be 42,000 heat pumps.
Everyone can participate
Up to and including 2030, 13 billion euros will be invested in sustainability measures in the built environment. This includes resources to ensure that everyone can participate, including tenants and homeowners with lower and middle incomes. The additional package of 900 million euros in measures has been taken for this group. On top of that, another 1.5 billion euros will be made available for making homes in Groningen more sustainable. Through the national performance agreements, the cabinet agreed with housing corporations to accelerate sustainability, to stop renting out rental homes with E, F and G labels from 2029, to make 450,000 homes natural gas-free, and to insulate 675,000 social housing units ready for the future. rental properties. The government is also focusing on rent reduction for homes with poor energy labels, the national insulation program for owners of owner-occupied homes in vulnerable neighborhoods with high levels of energy poverty, targeted support for making VvEs more sustainable, subsidies for local residents’ initiatives and do-it-yourself initiatives, and the approach to energy poverty and support from energy fixers.