Renovation Subsidies in Flanders: How the Support Works

Flanders runs its renovation support through one main channel, Mijn VerbouwPremie, plus a few schemes that reward deep energy renovations and help finance them. The Flemish Region writes its own rules, so a property in Brussels or Wallonia follows a different system. This guide sets out what exists, who can apply, and in which order to check a file.

Who pays renovation subsidies in Flanders

Renovation support in Belgium is organised region by region, so the address of the property decides which scheme applies to it.

There is no single Belgian renovation grant. A home in Ghent, Bruges or Hasselt falls under the Flemish Region, which publishes its schemes on the government portal and pays them through its energy agency and the grid operator. An owner outside the Flemish Region follows the Brussels or Walloon procedure instead, with different forms, different conditions and different deadlines.

That split matters more than it looks. Each region writes its conditions around its own housing stock and its own energy targets, so a rule read on a Walloon page rarely transfers to a file in Flanders. Start from the region, then look at the scheme.

Mijn VerbouwPremie, the main renovation premium

Mijn VerbouwPremie is the single online portal where individuals and companies apply for renovation and energy-saving premiums in the Flemish Region.

It covers houses, flats, blocks of flats and buildings without a residential function. Two families of works are eligible:

• Energy efficiency: roof, wall and floor insulation, high-efficiency glazing, solar water heater, heat pump, heat pump boiler and gas condensing boiler.
• Housing quality: electricity and plumbing, interior renovation, windows and doors.

What you can claim depends on the group you belong to. An owner who occupies the property as their main residence on the application date can apply across the categories. Someone investing in a building they neither own nor occupy is limited to the energy investments listed above. A landlord who lets the home through a social rental agency is always entitled to the highest premium. Social housing companies are not eligible.

One practical detail catches owners who do not live in the region: the application runs in Dutch, on the official counter. Plan for that, or have someone file it with you.

The EPC label premium for deep renovations

The EPC label premium rewards a renovation that lifts a home several energy labels within five years.

The starting point is the energy performance certificate. A house that starts at label E or F has to reach at least label C. A flat that starts at label D, E or F has to reach at least label B. The amount paid depends on the label actually reached after the works, so this premium follows the result rather than the invoice.

Two conditions decide most files. Demolition followed by reconstruction is not eligible. And the new certificate must be no more than twelve months old when the application is filed.

This scheme is also why people search for a subsidy year. The certificate drawn up before the works has to be issued by 31 December 2025 at the latest, and applications are accepted until 30 June 2026. A project that starts after that window uses the other routes below.

Loans that sit next to the premiums

Flanders lends as well as pays, and the loans are built for owners whose renovation costs more than the premiums cover.

Mijn VerbouwLening finances works on both housing quality and energy performance, up to EUR 60,000 and over a term of up to 25 years. The property must be located in the Flemish Region and built before 2006, with an exception for heat pumps and solar panels. It is open to owner-occupiers in the lower and middle income categories, private landlords, people who acquire a home through inheritance or gift, and associations of co-owners.

A second loan targets buyers. Anyone who buys a house or flat with a poor energy label and renovates it within five years can take a renovation loan alongside the mortgage loan for the purchase. Its term runs up to 20 years and cannot exceed the term of the main loan. The borrower pays the agreed interest to the bank, and the Flemish energy agency VEKA reimburses it every year as an interest grant. Five years after the deed, VEKA checks that the intended label has been reached.

The renovation obligation behind the subsidies

For many buyers these schemes are not a bonus, they are the way to meet a legal deadline.

A new owner of a residential building with an EPC label E or F has to renovate it to at least label D within six years of the transfer. The premiums and the loans exist to make that jump payable. Reading the subsidy list without that obligation in mind is how owners find out late that the works were never optional.

How to check your own file, in order

Eligibility is a sequence, and following it saves rebuilding a file that fails on a condition set earlier in the chain.

1. Confirm the region of the property, since each one runs its own schemes and its own forms.
2. Identify the group you fall into: owner-occupier, landlord, co-ownership, company.
3. Check that the works you plan appear in the eligible categories.
4. Have the certificate drawn up before the works start, because the label premium is measured from it.
5. Keep quotes and invoices in the name of the applicant.
6. Apply within the window of each scheme, on the official counter.

FAQ

Short answers to what owners ask most often before filing.

Is there one renovation subsidy for the whole of Belgium?

No. Support is organised region by region, and the address of the property decides which rules, forms and deadlines apply to the works.

Can a premium and a loan be combined?

The Flemish loan covers the categories of works defined in Mijn VerbouwPremie, so the same project can be financed by the loan and supported by the premium. Each one is assessed on its own conditions.

Is a new certificate needed to claim the label premium?

Yes. The new EPC must be no more than twelve months old at the time of application, and the certificate from before the works had to be issued within the official window.