- 6/5/2025

Building or renovating: which is more eco-friendly?

2 min

Please note that borrowing money also costs money.

Legal framework: the journey to energy label D or higher

Know your home's EPC rating

Sometimes, improving the energy efficiency of your existing home means carrying out a major intervention. But renovations like these require fewer new raw materials and less polluting transport than building a new home. Did you opt for a new-build? In most cases, it will still be more energy-efficient than a renovated house due to the current stringent BEN (nearly zero energy) requirements.

Are you embarking on a renovation? First things first: start by establishing your home's current EPC rating. You can find this EPC rating on a recent PEB/EPB certificate – meaning one issued in 2019 or later. An EPC/PEB/EPB report also contains recommendations on how to make your home more energy-efficient. Don't have a recent EPC? You can have an energy audit performed by a recognised energy expert in that case.

Renovation obligation from 2023

Europe wants to be energy neutral by 2050. For housing, this means reaching an EPC label A. Currently, however, barely four percent of houses and apartments in Belgium comply with this requirement. So we will have to step up our efforts considerably in the coming years. Flanders has therefore introduced a renovation obligation.

From 1 January 2023, all new owners of a house or apartment with an EPC label E or F must renovate their new home to at least EPC label D within five years of purchase (or inheritance, donation, etc.). Anyone who does not comply with the renovation obligation risks getting a fine ranging from € 500 to as much as € 200,000.

Is a new-build a better option?

Since 2021, anyone building a home in Belgium must do this in an energy-efficient manner. Flanders has the BEN norm (bijna-energieneutraal/almost energy-neutral), whereas Wallonia has the Q-ZEN (Quasi Zéro Energie/Almost Zero Energy) norm.

A nearly zero-energy home uses little energy for heating, ventilation, cooling and hot water. Any energy it needs mainly comes from renewable energy sources.

Win-win: an investment in the future

Your long-term benefits

With energy-efficient measures, you not only reduce your CO₂ emissions and your energy bill, but you also increase your comfort and your home's (future) market value.

The challenge is daunting, but together we can succeed in meeting the ambitious 2050 goals.