As part of the reform aimed at curbing the budgetary overrun of renovation grants, the Government had allowed households already committed to works before 14 February 2025 to keep the benefit of the former conditions, provided they paid a deposit of at least 20%. Following preliminary observations by the auditor of the Council of State, this condition will be lifted. The households concerned will now only need to submit the dated and signed quote for their project (quote dated before 14 February 2025) and will have until 30 September 2027 to complete their works and submit a grant application.
Last year, the Walloon Government had to thoroughly overhaul the renovation grant scheme, whose cost had become unmanageable. Without intervention, the bill would have exceeded one billion euros, well beyond the available budget. Moreover, the system was illegible, with over 120 coexisting schemes, and households had to pre-finance all their works, sometimes waiting up to two years before receiving their aid.
Rather than imposing a complete halt, a responsible choice was made: to maintain support through a temporary scheme.
To protect as much as possible citizens already financially committed to a renovation project, the Government allowed households that had paid, before 14 February 2025, a deposit of at least 20% of the cost of the works to keep the benefit of the pre-reform conditions.
In an opinion, the auditor of the Council of State acknowledged the legitimacy of the budgetary objective pursued and did not find a breach of the “standstill” principle. However, he raised several observations regarding this transitional provision of the temporary scheme, in particular concerning the deposit, as well as the fifteen-day period given to citizens to assert their right to the former conditions.
The Walloon Government decided this Thursday to secure its reform by addressing the points raised by the auditor.
In concrete terms:
- the requirement for a dated and signed quote prior to 14 February 2025 remains;
- the requirement for a deposit of at least 20% before 14 February 2025 is lifted;
- households already engaged in a project before that date will therefore be able to benefit from the former conditions by attaching to their grant application the quote for their project signed before 14 February 2025;
- they will have until 30 September 2027 to complete their works and submit their application;
- people whose request to maintain the former conditions had been declared inadmissible will also be able to submit a grant application under the scheme in force before 14 February, provided it meets the adapted conditions;
- the situation of Rénopack beneficiaries does not change in practice: files registered before 14 February 2025 remain subject to the former conditions, while those registered from that date onwards fall under the temporary scheme.
Having examined these corrective elements, between the first and second readings of the corrective decree approved this Thursday, the legislation section of the Council of State raised no criticism of the proposed changes and considered their retroactive application from 14 February 2025 to be admissible.
The new provisions will enter into force after publication in the Belgian Official Gazette. No action should be taken before this publication. From that point, the households concerned will need to attach the quote for their renovation project to their grant application. Practical details will be communicated shortly.
The funding of the budgetary impact of these adjustments will be decided as part of the conclave.
The temporary scheme introduced in February 2025 remains unchanged. Works and applications under this scheme must still be completed by 30 September 2026 at the latest, the day before the new renovation support scheme comes into force. The latter will in future be based on loans, the conditions of which will be adapted to applicants' incomes and the energy savings generated by the works. Less energy-efficient homes will be targeted as a priority. Control mechanisms will also be strengthened to prevent abuse.
"In reforming the system, we wanted to avoid a complete halt to the aid while protecting as much as possible citizens already committed, renovation works and the construction sector. We had also said we would explore all possibilities to secure the scheme. That is what we are doing today, without abandoning the essential control of regional finances," stressed Cécile Neven, Walloon Minister for Energy and Housing.