More than 850,000 homes made more sustainable in five years

Between 2021 and 2025, more than 850,000 homes were made more sustainable. This was done with the help of a government grant or loan. Most of these were owner-occupied homes.

More than 91 percent of these homes are owner-occupied. Around three-quarters of the grants are used to improve home insulation. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS, the national statistics office), many more homes received a grant or loan for energy saving in 2023.

This was also because energy prices rose. In 2024, grants for making homes more sustainable were awarded 12 percent less often than in 2023. In particular, the insulation of façades and cavity walls was carried out less often.

This was partly because bats are protected. Because of these regulations, people sometimes had to postpone insulation work, or it could not go ahead. More grants were awarded again in 2025; nearly 300,000 homes were made more sustainable.

Most of the money was used for insulation, such as installing more energy-efficient glazing. Around 40 percent of the homes made more sustainable received glazing insulation. This assistance mainly went to older homes or homes with a low energy-efficiency rating.

The number of grants for (hybrid) heat pumps remained roughly the same over the past three years. Between 80,000 and 90,000 grants for heat pumps were awarded each year. Over the past five years, just over 10 percent of all homes were made more sustainable with a grant.

This was less common for apartments managed by a Homeowners’ Association (VvE, the Dutch association of apartment owners): only 5 percent. For homes without a Homeowners’ Association, the figure was 11 percent. Even so, the number of homes managed by a Homeowners’ Association that are being made more sustainable continues to grow.

In the northeastern Netherlands, a relatively large number of owner-occupied homes have been made more sustainable over the past five years. This happened particularly often in Stadskanaal, Veendam and Pekela. Fewer owner-occupied homes were made more sustainable in major cities such as The Hague, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

In Utrecht, this happened more often than average. Many apartments in cities are managed by a Homeowners’ Association, and these are made more sustainable less often than single-family homes.