No less than four municipalities in North Holland are in the national top five of municipalities with the highest percentage of poor energy labels for homes. This is stated by the organization Natuur & Milieu. Heemstede is the leader, Bloemendaal is second, Laren fourth and Haarlem fifth.
These are homes with an E, F or G label, the least sustainable energy labels. The percentage is based on the homes in a municipality with a registered label, provided by an expert. In Heemstede, that is half of the homes. 36 percent of these have a bad label. That amounts to 2294 homes.
The municipality of Bloemendaal also does not score very well. Of all homes with a registered label, 1721 come off badly, which is 34 percent. In Laren and Haarlem it is 30 percent.
Most energy-wasting homes
When it comes to the municipalities with the largest absolute numbers of homes with a registered E, F or G label, Amsterdam is at the top. It concerns more than 45,000 homes. Haarlem is also high on this list. The municipality has almost 13,000 homes with a registered energy label E, F or G. This puts the North Holland capital first behind the big four cities in the Netherlands.
“We are shocked by the figures,” says Rob van Tilburg of Nature & Environment. “Of course we know that a lot still needs to be done to improve sustainability in the Netherlands, but an average percentage of 16 percent of homes with an E, F or G label among the registered homes is still more than we thought. And then there is also the suspicion that the percentage of bad labels among the unregistered homes is even higher.”
Municipalities not informed
Nature & Environment has based the figures on data from Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry. Municipalities themselves did not participate in the investigation and were not aware of it. Most municipalities will see the figures for the first time in the morning.
With the research, the nature organization wants to provide insight into what task the government still has to achieve the sustainability goals in the Netherlands. In 2050 all homes must be climate neutral and in 2030 the intention is that all homes with a bad energy label will have disappeared. This certainly applies to the rental sector.
“A lot still needs to be done to make all homes with a bad label more sustainable in time,” says Van Tilburg. “The government must take the lead in this. There must be more focus on registration and actual sustainability. People need a stick behind the door, otherwise too little will happen.”
There are also municipalities in North Holland that are doing well. In Heerhugowaard, only 3 percent of the registered homes have an E, F or G label. Purmerend is also doing well. Only 5 percent of the registered homes there have an E, F or G label.
Mandatory energy label
Since 2015, homes in the Netherlands have been assigned a provisional energy label. That label is an estimate based on the year of construction and the type of home. For example, it is examined whether it concerns a detached house or a terraced house. The oldest homes receive the worst labels in these assessments. Homes built after 2006 in the Netherlands are all assigned the provisional energy label A.
A registered energy label is mandatory as soon as a home is sold, rented out or delivered. The label that a home receives is based on the assessment of a certified consultant.