Buying a home with EPC label E or F: the renovation obligation in Flanders
A home with a weak EPC can be a good buy, if you know what you are getting into. In Flanders you have to renovate it after the purchase. Here you read what that obligation entails, which official support still exists in 2026 and how you take it into account in your bid.
If you buy a house or flat with EPC label E or F in Flanders, you have to renovate it to at least label D within 6 years after the deed; that period was definitively brought from 5 to 6 years on 12 December 2025 (Vlaamse overheid, checked on 28 October 2026). If you do not make it, you risk a fine of € 00 to € ,000 and the obligation remains. For the works there are among others Mijn VerbouwLening up to € 0,000 and, depending on your income, Mijn VerbouwPremie (Vlaamse overheid, 2026).
What is your home worth?
First see what your home is worth. Then start preparing early and without obligation: free, for as long as you like.
When does the renovation obligation apply to you as buyer?
The obligation applies to whoever has acquired a house or flat with EPC label E or F in full ownership since 1 January 2023, through a purchase or another transfer (Vlaamse overheid, the Flemish government). Holiday homes and second residences also fall under it.
It applies per dwelling unit. If you buy a flat, it applies to your flat, not to the whole building (Vlaamse overheid). There are exceptions:
An inheritance does not fall under it. An obligation that was already running does continue to apply, and if heirs buy each other out, it does apply.
Whoever receives only the usufruct or only the bare ownership does not fall under it.
A transfer between co-owners after a divorce, if at least one of them keeps their main residence there.
Protected heritage and buildings on the inventory of architectural heritage, and a home that you demolish within 6 years.
Part 2
What do you have to do and by when?
You renovate to at least label D, within 6 years after the date of the notarial deed. The period was definitively extended from 5 to 6 years on 12 December 2025, also for purchases that were already running. If you buy a home for which the previous owner still had an obligation, you take over the remaining period (Vlaamse overheid).
The proof is a new EPC (energy performance certificate), drawn up by a type A energy expert. It automatically enters the database of the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency (VEKA), so you do not have to report anything separately. If after 6 years there is no new EPC, or it does not reach label D, the agency starts a procedure: a fine of € 00 to € ,000 per dwelling unit, and a new period to renovate after all (Vlaamse overheid).
For a deed in 2026 the target is label D. The official page also mentions a long-term path with label C from 2028, while the Flemish Government wants to abolish that stricter path. So that is not yet clear; ask your notary what applies at the moment of your deed.
Part 3
How do you know before your bid what needs to happen?
The EPC label must appear in the advert, and the renovation obligation must be mentioned in the advert, the sale agreement (compromis) and the deed (Vlaamse overheid). For a sale only an EPC drawn up after 2019 may be used, and an EPC usually remains valid for 10 years (Vlaamse overheid).
Read the EPC itself, not just the label. It contains recommendations to make the home more efficient (Vlaamse overheid). That is a good start for your list of works.
Visit the home with someone who knows about it, and before your bid ask for an estimate or quotes for the main works, such as the roof, the walls, the windows and the heating. That way you know roughly what the renovation costs.
In the showroom on hoobler.be the EPC label is shown with the homes, and you can request the owner’s dossier, with documents such as the EPC. Questions about the home you ask the owner directly there.
Part 4
Which grants and loans exist in 2026?
The Flemish support for renovation changed in 2026, and older pages sometimes still mention support that no longer exists. The EPC label grant was discontinued on 1 July 2026, except for files that were already registered with Fluvius earlier (VEKA). The renovation loan with interest subsidy was discontinued for purchases with a deed from 1 January 2025, and the extra reduced rate in the registration duty for a major energy renovation no longer applies to sale agreements from 2025 (Vlaamse overheid; Vlaamse Belastingdienst, the Flemish Tax Administration).
With the simulator of the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency you see in which income category you fall and which interest rate and grant apply to you. If you need help, you can go to the Energiehuis, the local energy advice centre (VEKA).
This still exists (Vlaamse overheid; VEKA, checked on 28 October 2026):
Mijn VerbouwLening: borrow up to € 0,000, to be repaid over a maximum of 25 years, at 1. % in income category 2, 0. % in category 3 and interest-free in category 4. The highest income category cannot get it. You apply on the basis of quotes, via the Mijn VerbouwLoket (VEKA, January 2026).
Mijn VerbouwPremie: among others for roof, wall and floor insulation, high-efficiency glazing and heat pumps. For owner-occupiers in income categories 3 and 4 nothing changes in 2026. In the two highest categories, since 1 March 2026 there is only a grant left for a heat pump or heat pump boiler, to be applied for up to and including 31 December 2027 (Vlaamse overheid).
% VAT instead of 2 % for renovation works to a home older than 10 years, if the contractor invoices the works and the materials and you mainly use the home privately after the works (FOD Financiën, the federal tax authority).
A Flemish housing loan (Vlaamse woonlening) from the Flemish Housing Fund, for a purchase with works, if you have a modest income (Vlaamse overheid).
Part 5
What does the renovation obligation mean for your bid?
A renovation obligation is no reason not to buy, but it is a reason to substantiate your bid well. Add to the price and the purchase costs the works needed to reach label D, and deduct the support you are entitled to. That total must fit in your budget.
Ask your bank before your bid whether the works can be included in your home loan. Each bank decides that itself. Then include in your bid a suspensive condition for your financing, for the amount you really need (notaris.be).
Explain your bid with a short, factual note: the label, the works needed according to the EPC and your quotes, and what they cost. An owner can weigh your bid better if they see what it is based on.
Also bear in mind that the seller does not have to renovate: the obligation comes to you, from the deed. What the seller already did in works, you see in a recent EPC.
Part 6
How do you plan the works within 6 years?
Six years seems long, but permits, quotes and contractors take time. Start with the works that have the most effect on your EPC, and have a new EPC drawn up after the works as proof.
If you need a permit for the works, an architect is usually required (Wikifin, June 2026). Those costs belong in your budget too.
If you buy a flat, works to the common parts are sometimes needed, such as roof insulation or a collective heating system. Legally required works can be decided by the general meeting with a simple majority of 5 % plus 1 (Vlaamse overheid). Before your bid, request the minutes of the last general meetings, so that you know what is already planned.
If you sell the home again yourself within the period, the new owner takes over the remaining period (Vlaamse overheid).
Part 7
What applies in Brussels and Wallonia?
The renovation obligation on a purchase is a Flemish rule. In Brussels and Wallonia other rules apply; ask your notary what applies to the home you want to buy.
Frequently asked questions
Answered briefly.
How much time do you have to renovate a house with label F?
6 years after the notarial deed, to at least label D (Vlaamse overheid). That period has applied since 12 December 2025, also to purchases that were already running.
What if you do not meet the renovation obligation?
Then the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency can impose a fine of € 00 to € ,000 per dwelling unit, and you get a new period: the obligation remains (Vlaamse overheid).
Does the renovation obligation also apply to a flat?
Yes, per flat with label E or F. Works to the common parts that are legally required can be decided by the general meeting with a simple majority (Vlaamse overheid).
Does the EPC label grant still exist?
No. It was discontinued on 1 July 2026, except for files that were already registered with Fluvius earlier (VEKA). Mijn VerbouwLening and, depending on your income, Mijn VerbouwPremie do exist.
Does the renovation obligation apply if you inherit a house?
No, an inheritance does not fall under it. If an obligation was already running, you have to meet it within the remaining period, and if heirs buy each other out, it does apply (Vlaamse overheid).
In the showroom on hoobler.be owners sell their home themselves. You see the EPC label there, request the dossier and ask your questions about the works directly to the owner.