Due to the significant rise in energy expenses in the Netherlands, it is expected that you, as a prospective homeowners, will be more conscientious when assessing the energy bill associated with your purchase. Rutger from Waltmann Makelaars explains everything you need to know about energy costs in the Netherlands.
An energy-efficient house will provide you with more financial leeway, especially if costs will continue to go up over the next few years. Furthermore, an energy certificate will tell you a lot about the costs you may incur from living in a certain property.
How to find out if a house is energy-efficient
Those who are selling a house are required to provide the buyer with the definitive energy certificate (or energielabel) of the property. This is different from the provisional certificate, which every house in the Netherlands is granted. The provisional version is an estimate based on a few factors, such as the year in which the house was built.
An energy consultant (energieadviseur) can help sellers to acquire a definitive energy certificate for their house.
Energy certificate rating
An energy certificate can be rated from letters A – G, with the most energy-efficient houses having a rating of A++++ and the least sustainable houses a rating of G.
Twice as expensive
When buying a house with an unfavourable energy certificate, keep in mind the high costs that may come with it. Firstly, the energy costs will already be high and if you would want to make the house more sustainable, you must take the necessary investment costs into account.
Secondly, it is expected that there will be a further rise in energy costs, even after the war in Ukraine. This is because fossil fuels will be made more expensive, so that the revenue can be used to invest in sustainability. This way, you are more or less forced to become more sustainable.
Look into the energy consumption of the current owners
If you are seriously interested in buying a house, you should enquire with the seller about the monthly energy costs. But make sure to also look beyond this monthly bill as it’s quite possible that the owners still have an energy contract with a lower rate which they secured years ago, for a specified period.
In addition, you can ask them about how much gas and electricity they use annually. This will allow you to calculate what the energy companies are currently charging. Of course, the power consumption of the present owners does not tell you the complete story about the energy costs that you can expect.