Policy paper: how can the renovation requirement make housing in Flanders more resilient
What is needed to make the Flemish housing renovation requirement a success? In a new policy paper, VITO/EnergyVille sets out the essential conditions. The paper, From label to leverage, analyses the impact on house prices, renovation behaviour and investment costs, and shows how the renovation requirement — linked to the renovation passport and using the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) label as a benchmark — can make our homes fossil-free and resilient.
Urgency: renovation agenda and energy crisis
The analysis comes at an important moment. The European Commission recently called on Belgium to submit its draft National Building Renovation Plan without further delay. In doing so, Europe underlines that member states must map out a sustainable pathway towards energy-efficient and fossil-free buildings by 2050. At the same time, a new energy crisis once again shows how vulnerable households remain when homes consume large amounts of energy.
Against that background, the paper makes clear that a purely voluntary and fragmented approach is not enough to structurally increase the renovation rate. The EPC label is a useful instrument in this regard, because it makes the renovation requirement concrete and workable. But a label alone is not enough. To truly prepare homes for fossil-free heating, renovation policy must also steer towards reducing heat demand, following logical renovation steps and defining a clear end goal.
Does the renovation requirement benefit households in Flanders?
The paper shows that renovating towards energy-efficient and emission-free homes directly contributes to the quality, affordability and resilience of housing in Flanders. The analyses show that the renovation requirement does not impose renovation out of nowhere, but rather makes existing purchase and renovation triggers more systematic, encouraging buyers of energy-inefficient homes to move more often towards better EPC labels. Research by the National Bank confirms that the measure translates into lower purchase prices for homes with label E and F, creating additional financial room to help finance renovations at the time of purchase.
Five recommendations for a successful renovation strategy
The question is not whether renovation should be guided, but how this can be done in a feasible and affordable way. Policy certainty is crucial for investment decisions. In addition, an effective renovation framework requires guidance and support, innovation in the construction sector, and flanking policy on financing, taxation and social support. The paper puts forward five recommendations to turn the renovation requirement into a success story:
- Anchor the renovation requirement in a stable pathway towards 2050: homeowners, banks and the construction sector need predictable standards and a clear horizon towards a fossil-free building stock.
- Accelerate the shift to fossil-free heating: focus on a logical sequence of measures, first reducing heat demand sufficiently and then replacing the heating system. A clear and predictable phase-out of fossil heating systems gives homeowners and investors the signal to align renovations already today with a fossil-free end goal.
- Guide homeowners with instruments such as the renovation passport: a renovation passport with a building-specific step-by-step plan helps homeowners map out logical renovation pathways, and reduces the risk of fragmented investments and lock-ins.
- Support innovation and industrialisation: innovative financing models and the industrialisation of renovation processes can lower investment thresholds, speed up renovations and reduce costs by an estimated 20 to 25 percent, with shorter implementation times and less waste.
- Put affordability first within an integrated policy approach: align energy policy with housing policy, taxation, financing and social support. Instruments such as adapted financing models, reforms in energy levies and targeted social support play an important role in this.
Conclusion
With the paper From label to leverage, VITO/EnergyVille aims to contribute to an informed debate on the Flemish renovation requirement. It is not the instrument itself, but the way it is embedded in a coherent and predictable renovation framework, that determines whether the requirement can grow into a strong lever for affordable and resilient housing.
