90% of Brussels homes will need renovating to meet 2050 energy standards

An estimated 92% of all homes and 95% of schools and hospitals in Brussels will require renovations to meet the energy standards that will come into effect in 2050, according to new research by construction federation Embuild.

Of the 5.7 million homes in Belgium today, only a small proportion meets the 2050 energy standards, leaving more than nine out of 10, or 5.2 million homes, that need to be renovated. Some will have to be demolished and rebuilt.

Embuild said the country was facing its "biggest construction challenge since the second world war" and that sufficient investment was needed to meet it.

“We need a consistent policy, not one that constantly flip-flops,” said Embuild chief executive Niko Demeester, noting that Brussels in particular is losing "months and years due to political inertia".

“Every day lost only makes the situation worse. It is high time that politicians formed a government,” he added.

Embuild also argued that the current procedures for the granting of building permits take too much time, which makes renovation and construction even more expensive.

In Brussels, an estimated 565,000 renovations will need to take place, accounting for 94.5% of the existing housing stock. An additional 6,000 homes will also need to be built by 2050.

Brussels is currently renovating only 0.8% of its entire housing stock per year, and at this current rate, 2050 targets will not be met.

The Brussels renovation plan Renolution, which aimed to help people pay for renovations to bring their homes up to energy standards, has been on hold for more than a year due to exhausted subsidy funds.

More than 3,500 individuals are still waiting for the payment of their promised renovation subsidies, totalling €56 million.

For families on modest incomes, the Housing Fund is now once again making affordable renovation loans available, but the procedures often take a long time.

Meanwhile, a Brussels construction freeze is looming. The planned freeze stipulates that undeveloped land of more than half a hectare may not be used for new projects.

The same is happening in Flanders, where from 2040 onwards, no additional open space may be reclaimed, but Embuild said the freezes would not be a significant obstacle.

Caroline Deiteren, director-general of Embuild Flanders, said the solution lies in "core development and densification" in order to achieve "high spatial efficiency", meaning building more upwards rather than outwards.

“The faster permits can be issued, the faster the problems can be tackled,” Deiteren added.

“One of the solutions will be to live in smaller homes. Compared to our neighbouring countries, Belgians live in large homes. But we can no longer all live in open developments and super-sized flats.”

According to Embuild, in addition to renovations, Belgium faces a "massive effort" in terms of new construction.

A wave of renovations is also necessary in public buildings and facilities.

Due to population growth and rising living costs, almost 900,000 homes will have to be built in Belgium over the next 25 years, 600,000 of which will be in Flanders, 280,000 in Wallonia and 6,000 in Brussels. By expanding supply in this way, the construction sector hopes to curb rising prices.

The general adult population is expected to grow by 9% by 2050, meaning a need for not only more hospitals but also prisons. According to Embuild’s calculations, new hospitals and prisons will mainly be needed outside the capital.

At the same time, the proportion of children is expected to decline slightly in the coming years, meaning the current school provision is sufficient.

However, 95% of school buildings in Belgium do not comply with 2050 energy standards. In Brussels, this concerns 187 Dutch-speaking schools and more than 700 French-speaking schools.

Due to the ageing population, Belgium will have twice as many people over the age of 85 by 2050 as it does today, and a third more people aged between 65 and 85.

This requires new construction and renovations of residential care centres and hospitals in particular, as 95% of the current care provision does not meet the appropriate energy standards.

By 2050, 486 additional residential care centres will be needed throughout Belgium, 43 of which will be in Brussels.