Wallonia is laying the groundwork for an ambitious reform of the support policy for the energy renovation of residential buildings. This groundwork will enable the development of a comprehensive support scheme that is simpler, more efficient and more sustainable, due to come into force on 1st October 2026.
The energy renovation of Wallonia's building stock cannot rely solely on grants, as recent events have shown. The Minister for Energy and Housing has tasked the High Strategic Council (HCS) and the Centre for Studies on Sustainable Housing (CEHD) with formulating guidelines for the introduction of a new “comprehensive renovation support scheme”. With one key question: given the available budgetary resources, what tools should be deployed to put Wallonia on track to meet the European targets set by the EPB IV Directive?
Based on an analysis of the current situation, the challenges and barriers to the energy renovation of residential buildings were identified. This work resulted in a set of proposals based on five main areas:
- Shifting the paradigm: the approach must be broadened to cover all mechanisms that can be mobilised, rather than being limited to a subsidy-only logic.
- Structuring and sustaining support: every household wishing to renovate must have access to personalised support, ranging from information on the targets to be met and existing aid schemes, to the complete delegation of the project's implementation.
- Revising and consolidating eligibility criteria: the various forms of support must be calibrated around three criteria: the applicant's financial capacity, the household's status and the type of building.
- Thorough simplification: the principles of administrative simplification must be integrated through a digital eligibility-check tool and a clear, readable offer.
- Stabilising the framework: current and future measures must be planned according to their level of maturity, in order to ensure predictability for all parties involved.
Six basic tools are proposed for deployment in October 2026:
- Strengthening the Rénopack and better coordination of grants: it is proposed to reorganise financial support around loans tailored to households' capacity, supplemented by grants for lower-income households, with priority given to the most energy-intensive dwellings;
- Better coordination of the various advisory and support tools: it is proposed to set up an integrated system of support operators across the whole territory, harmonising practices and pooling tools to guarantee equitable service for households;
- Tax incentives: it is proposed to analyse the possible tax levers available in order to complement existing measures;
- Amendment of the EPB certificate: it is proposed that any renovation supported by public authorities be subject to an energy assessment before and after the works, ensuring quality and enabling better policy management;
- Renovation obligations: it is proposed to introduce progressive energy renovation obligations linked to key moments in a building's life (sale, rental, occupation);
- Supporting energy renovation through other policies: the renovation strategy will draw on other regional policies (urban planning, housing standards, innovation, training, labelling) to remove structural obstacles and strengthen the effectiveness of the reform.
All of these proposals will be discussed with stakeholders in the coming weeks. Other tools whose maturity currently appears insufficient for implementation in the last quarter of 2026 will also be examined, with a view to their introduction during this legislature and beyond.
Cécile Neven, Minister for Energy and Housing: “On this objective basis, Wallonia will build a new scheme that removes structural obstacles to renovation by mobilising the right tools, at the right time, for the right target groups. All within a framework of budgetary sustainability. ”