Tenants in efficient solar homes would pay €8 to €13 more a month in EPV from 2027
Tenants of very efficient solar-panel homes who pay an energy performance fee would see their monthly increase cut to about €8 to €13 under a cabinet proposal due to take effect on 1 January 2027.
The cabinet has agreed to lower the maximum rates of the energy performance fee (EPV) and is sending the proposal to the Council of State for advice. The new rates are due to apply from 1 January 2027, when the net-metering scheme (salderingsregeling) ends.
Why it matters
- Tenants paying the maximum EPV would otherwise pay an estimated €42 to €75 more per month than if generated power could still be netted and they paid no feed-in costs.
- With the change, that increase falls to about €8 to €13 per month.
- The amended rates are due to take effect on 1 January 2027.
The EPV is a fee a landlord may charge for a very energy-efficient, gas-free home that generates its own renewable energy, usually with many solar panels. Tenants in these homes do not pay extra for the panels through rent or service costs.
The 2023 decree modernising the EPV said the maximum rates would be reviewed before net-metering ended. In 2024 it was decided to abolish the scheme early, from 2027.
Lower EPV rates affect housing corporations' income and investment capacity. The cabinet's housing acceleration action plan includes measures to raise investment capacity by €28bn, including changes to the Anti Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) rules presented on Prinsjesdag.
The Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning will hold talks with all partners in early 2027 on the national performance agreements (Nationale Prestatieafspraken), taking into account corporations' whole task, including making homes more sustainable.
More on prices and cost of living · renting and social housing · cabinet and parliament
Energieprestatievergoeding (EPV)
The energy performance fee is a monthly amount that a landlord of a rented home may charge the tenant to recover the cost of energy-saving improvements, such as insulation or solar panels. The government sets maximum rates for this fee, so landlords cannot charge more than the set limit. It matters for renters because it adds to the monthly housing cost on top of rent and service charges.
Salderingsregeling
The net-metering scheme is the Dutch rule under which households with solar panels can offset the electricity they feed back into the grid against the electricity they draw from it, so they pay only for the net amount. The scheme is set to end on 1 January 2027, after which the rules for electricity fed back to the grid change. It matters because it affects the financial return on home solar panels and the energy bills of many homeowners.