Renovating & making your home more sustainable

What does this involve?

You usually finance a renovation by increasing your mortgage or adding a second mortgage part. The amount is placed in a construction deposit (bouwdepot), from which you pay contractors and suppliers.

Sustainability measures — insulation, a heat pump, solar panels or a new heating system — are actively encouraged by many Dutch lenders through extra borrowing room or an interest discount.

Who is this relevant for?

• You own a home and want to extend, renovate or modernise it.
• You want to lower your energy bill and improve your energy label.
• You are buying a property that needs work first.
• You want to know whether to pay for the renovation from savings or from your mortgage.

What are your options?

• Increasing your existing mortgage, possibly with its own fixed-rate period.
• A construction deposit from which invoices are paid, with interest credited on the balance.
• Extra borrowing room for energy-saving measures on top of your normal maximum.
• Financing renovation costs when buying, based on the value after renovation.
• Combining your mortgage with national or municipal sustainability subsidies.

What should you look out for?

• The value after renovation often determines how much you can borrow; this requires a valuation with a renovation specification.
• A construction deposit has a term: unused funds are repaid afterwards.
• Reserve a buffer for setbacks and rising material prices.
• Keep quotations and invoices; your lender will ask for them when you claim from the deposit.
• Small amounts are sometimes cheaper from savings than through a mortgage increase with extra costs.

Important points of attention

A renovation raises your monthly mortgage payment, while sustainability measures usually lower your energy costs. We look at the full picture: your total monthly housing costs, not the mortgage alone.

How Voorne Hypotheekadvies helps you

I calculate your available room, compare lenders on their sustainability conditions and guide you through the construction deposit and the documents involved — in English if you prefer.