Homeowners want to make sustainability improvements, but subsidy schemes too complicated

Over eight in ten Netherlands homeowners have made their homes more sustainable in the past two years or plan to do so, De Hypotheker reports based on research. But a third of homeowners have difficulty applying for a subsidy, the homeowners association VEH said. People find the application process incomprehensible, inaccessible, and time-consuming.

The energy crisis, which caused a spike in energy rates, has made many Dutch people realize the importance of sustainability, De Hypotheker said. When making their home more sustainable, most people insulate or install solar panels or energy-efficient glass. De Hypotheker also noted an increasing demand for heat pumps.

“More and more homeowners seem to be becoming convinced of the importance of sustainability and energy saving, partly under the influence of the strongly increased energy prices,” said Marc van Vriesland of the Hypotheker. “This trend is expected to continue in the coming years because although energy prices have fallen, it could change once the price cap is lifted. Many homeowners, therefore, expect the energy label to play an increasingly important role in the housing market.”

Higher energy labels increasingly mean higher home value. “For example, a house with energy label C is worth an average of 11.6 percent more when sold than a comparable house with label G. With an average house price of 394,000, that quickly amounts to 45,000 euros,” said Vriesland.

Sustainability subsidy complicated

The government provided a subsidy to help people make their homes more sustainable. However, applying for it is proving too complicated for many, the VEH reported based on reports to its subsidy hotline. Among other things, people complain that the measurement methods are unclear. For example, for measuring insulating glass, it’s unclear whether they should measure the window with or within a frame. The online application form is also challenging to find, and people are frustrated about all the evidence they have to provide.

Subsidy applicants are also surprised at the amount of subsidy they ultimately receive. It is lower than expected, particularly for glass insulation. “We think that’s a bad thing,” VEH director Cindy Kremer said. “If you are going to replace your windows, you will soon invest tens of thousands of euros. If it turns out that you get a much smaller part of it back, people will soon find themselves in financial trouble.”

Homeowners also complained to the VEH about entering the correct reporting code. The contractor doing the work must also enter the code on their invoice. Kremer: “As an applicant, you end up in a maze of reporting code. If the code does not correspond with your contractor’s invoice, you must return to it. These are terribly time-consuming jobs that you, as a consumer, don’t want.”

The VEH started the subsidy hotline after receiving many complaints. The point opened on March 24. The VEH received almost 700 reports since. The hotline is now closed again.