Outstanding Renolution grants will finally be paid out

The new Brussels government has greed to allocate €56 million to pay outstanding Renolution premiums to almost 2,700 Brussels households awaiting them this year.

The Renolution grants were subsidies promised to Brussels residents who renovated their homes to be more energy-efficient, but the budget was quickly depleted.

Residents who had submitted applications - which could only be filed after the works were finished - were therefore left on the hook for expensive renovations.

After protests and threatened legal action, Brussels’ budget minister Dirk De Smedt (Anders) and state secretary for climate and environment Ans Persoons (Vooruit) have announced that a sum of €56 million via Urban.Brussels and Brussels Environment should be sufficient to provide families behind 2,692 applications with their subsidy this year.

“Brussels residents with an approved Renolution file who are awaiting payment will be contacted in the coming weeks with practical information about the payment,” Persoons said.

The administration will also be reviewing another 600 outstanding applications by mid-2026.

Funds will be provided for each admissible application with a final invoice for the works dated before 1 January 2025 and submitted within 12 months (i.e. before 2026).

The previous government introduced the subsidies in 2022 to encourage sustainable renovations, but after running out of funds, payments have been delayed for almost two years. In the meantime, Brussels households counting on a subsidy have had to pay their renovation bills in full themselves.

In terms of the future, the Brussels region’s subsidy system via Urban.Brussels and Brussels Environment is being abolished. The intention is to eventually convert the subsidies into interest-free loans, according to the coalition agreement.

“By better insulating Brussels homes and improving their quality, we can reduce our CO² emissions and achieve our climate targets under the regional low-carbon strategy,” said Persoons.