Obtaining a home energy label: when is it required?
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Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
First check the registered label and expiry date. Where required, arrange assessment and registration by a qualified adviser if no suitable valid label exists. A quote or provisional label is not a valid registration.
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1. When is a label required?
A label is generally required on completion, sale and new letting. Since 29 May 2026 this also covers protected monuments, lease extension and major renovation. Major renovation concerns more than 25% of the surface of the integral building envelope, not simply 25% of the home's volume. Have applicability assessed. The owner supplies the label; new construction also carries duties for the seller or commissioning owner.
2. Which exceptions apply?
Exceptions include buildings not heated/cooled for people, religious use, industrial use, use for at most two years and a detached building smaller than 50 m². Low-use residential/lodging premises must meet both less than four months' use and expected consumption below 25% of permanent use. A specific exception covers negotiated acquisition for demolition within expropriation arrangements, not every planned demolition. A small apartment is not automatically a detached building.
3. Can I use the existing label?
Check the address in EP-online or Zoek je energielabel and download through MijnOverheid, Wonen. Check address, assessment date, status and expiry: validity is ten years from assessment. There is no automatic expiry notification. An existing simplified VEL or Energy Index may remain valid, but VEL is not suitable for letting; that requires an Energy Index or a label under the method used since 2021. New construction needs a label on completion.
4. Choose and prepare for the adviser
Compare quotes from qualified residential EP advisers in the Centraal Register Techniek and check their professional passport. Agree price, visit and delivery; home type, records and time affect cost. Prepare drawings, insulation invoices/photos, glazing details and boiler, heat-pump, ventilation and solar-panel records. Arrange attendance and safe access. Missing evidence can cause conservative assumptions. For improvements, ask whether relabelling without another visit is possible.
5. What must I receive and display?
The adviser calculates performance, registers it in EP-online and supplies a copy. Check registration and details; EP-online is authoritative. Give the valid label to the buyer/tenant and put both the class and numerical performance indicator in commercial advertisements. Mixed-use premises may need separate residential/non-residential labels. Improvement information is not a prediction of your personal energy bill: behaviour and appliances differ. Keep the label, invoice and technical evidence.
6. Missing or incorrect label
For errors, first ask the adviser for explanation/correction, then the certificate holder and certifying institution identified on the label if needed. Tenants contact the landlord; rent disputes may go to the Huurcommissie under its applicable conditions. Report a missing label to ILT where appropriate; enforcement or a fine may follow. Ask RVO/Helpdesk about withdrawal or address corrections. Do not base transaction planning on an unconfirmed application.
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Is my listed monument still exempt?
Not merely because it is protected. Since 29 May 2026 the label requirement also applies to monuments at the relevant events. A different specific exemption may apply; a label duty and renovation standards are separate matters.
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Need personal assistance? Request a lawyer through our chat. We explain the next step; submitting a request does not engage a lawyer. The links below support the legal information.
Rijksoverheid · Energielabel aanvragen ↗Rijksoverheid · Labelplicht en uitzonderingen ↗Bbl · artikelen 6.27–6.30 ↗RVO · Energielabel woningen ↗RVO · Vragen energielabel woningen ↗ILT · Toezicht energielabel ↗Staatsblad 2026,103 · Definitie ingrijpende renovatie ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.