Brussels 'Renolution' grants cost twice as much as predicted

Last year, the Brussels government paid out some €135.4 million in Renolution grants - financial support for property-owners when renovation work is carried out to insulate properties and save energy.

The number of subsidies requested also reached a record high in 2024, from 20,638 in 2023 to 23,683. The annual budget for the scheme was €69 million, which was exceeded by almost double.

This figure will likely increase as Brussels Environment must still process 5,000 more applications to get grants from Renolution, the Brussels region’s strategy that aims to “revolutionise the renovation of Brussels buildings”.

In summer, the number of applications went up sharply when David Leisterh, president of Brussels’ liberal Mouvement Reformateur (MR) group said he wanted to replace the premiums with interest-free loans once a new Brussels regional government has been formed.

Unsurprisingly, in just a few weeks, the authorities involved received nearly 7,000 applications to benefit from the grant while it still existed. Homeowners were rushing to get the concrete payments instead of loans before the energy-saving renovation bonus system was changed.

Outgoing Brussels environment minister Alain Maron (Ecolo) told L’Echo newspaper that the government thought the initial budget was too tight, “but we could not foresee by how much it would overshoot. We knew very well we had to reform the bonus system.”

This year, given the political deadlock in the Brussels government coalition talks, the application procedure for Renolution premiums has been put on hold until the next Brussels government decides its renovation strategy.

“To apply for a grant [on work carried out this year] you will have to wait for a decision from the new government on the 2025 grant system. Until then, you will not be able to apply for a grant for work with a final invoice dated 2025,” the Renolution website states.

“If the final invoice is dated in 2024, you can still submit your application, provided it is submitted within 12 months of the invoice date,” said Pascale Hourman, spokeswoman for Brussels Environment.

The construction sector has already voiced concern about changes to the renovation grant scheme, predicting serious losses in the capital. This is because fewer homeowners will likely carry out renovation work without the benefit and possibilities given to them by Renolution grants.