If you are buying a home you want to make more energy efficient, or want to improve the home you already own, you can borrow more in 2026 than your income would normally allow. There are two amounts: one linked to the home's energy label, and an energy-saving budget for measures such as insulation or a heat pump, up to € 20,000 for a home with label E, F or G. Your mortgage may then also be higher than the home's value, up to 106 percent.
Two amounts on top of your income
The Dutch lending limits are set out in the Tijdelijke regeling hypothecair krediet. Article 4 of these rules names two amounts that a lender may leave out when calculating your housing costs. That lets you borrow more than your income alone would allow.
The first amount depends on the energy label the home has now. An efficient home has lower energy bills, so you may borrow a little more for it. This amount is not tied to any measures.
The second amount is the energy-saving budget (energiebespaarbudget). It is meant for energy-saving improvements you have installed in the home. The worse the label, the larger the budget.
The amounts for 2026
| Energy label | Amount for the label | Energy-saving budget |
|---|---|---|
| E, F or G | € 0 | up to € 20,000 |
| C or D | € 5,000 | up to € 15,000 |
| A or B | € 10,000 | up to € 10,000 |
| A+ or A++ | € 20,000 | up to € 10,000 |
| A+++ | € 25,000 | € 0 |
| A++++ | € 30,000 | € 0 |
| A++++ with an energy performance guarantee of at least ten years | € 40,000 | € 0 |
If the home has no energy label or no valid one, the energy-saving budget is at most € 10,000 and there is no amount for the label. Source: article 4, paragraphs 3 to 5, of the Tijdelijke regeling hypothecair krediet, as in force on 1 January 2026.
The rules say a lender may give you this room, not that it must. How a lender applies it, and which quotes or reports it wants to see in advance, differs.
Which measures count
Article 1 of the rules defines energy-saving improvements. They include insulation of walls, roof, floor and pipes, glazing of at least HR++ standard, heat pumps, solar panels and a shower heat recovery system. Energy-efficient doors and frames count if you have them fitted together with HR++ glazing, and an energy-efficient ventilation system only in combination with other measures.
A new kitchen or bathroom does not count. If you want to finance that too, it comes out of your regular borrowing capacity and the value of the home after the renovation.
Borrowing above the value of the home
Normally your mortgage may not be higher than the value of the home. If you include energy-saving improvements, the mortgage may go up to 106 percent of the home's value (article 5, paragraph 3). That extra room is only for the cost of the measures. You still pay transfer tax, the notary and advice from your own savings; more on that in How much of your own money do you need to buy a house?
If you choose the Dutch mortgage guarantee (NHG), the limit in 2026 is € 470,000. With energy-saving measures it becomes € 498,200, provided you spend the extra amount entirely on those measures. More in The NHG limit in 2026 and what NHG gives you.
An example from Almere
This example is indicative and based on the rules for 2026. The amounts are assumptions.
A couple buys a terraced house from the 1980s in Almere Stad for € 400,000. The home has energy label D. Based on their income they can borrow € 380,000.
Because of label D the lender may allow € 5,000 extra, so € 385,000. They want to insulate the roof and fit HR++ glazing, and the quotes for that add up to € 15,000. With label D the energy-saving budget is at most € 15,000, so the mortgage can come to € 400,000. That is 100 percent of the purchase price, well within the 106 percent limit. Because the purchase price and the measures together come to € 415,000, they also stay below the NHG limit of € 470,000.
They pay the purchase costs, such as transfer tax and the notary, from savings. Whether a lender actually grants this mortgage depends on their full situation.
Improving the home you already live in
If you already own your home, you can increase your mortgage to make it more energy efficient. The lender then looks at your income and the home's energy label again, and the amounts in the table apply here too. On our page about renovating and making your home sustainable you can read how we look at this with you, and on releasing home equity what is possible if your home has gone up in value.
Another route is the Energiebespaarlening from the Nationaal Warmtefonds. It is for owners of an existing home who live in it themselves, and it is separate from your mortgage. You borrow at least € 1,000 and at most € 29,000, over 7, 10 or 15 years, and above € 15,000 also over 20 years. If your combined taxable income is below € 60,000 gross a year, the interest can be 0 percent. The money goes into a construction deposit from which the contractor is paid (warmtefonds.nl, checked October 2026).
Which suits you better, a higher mortgage or a Warmtefonds loan, depends on your interest rate, your income and how much you want to borrow. How much you can borrow in general is explained in How much can I borrow for a mortgage in 2026?, and how we work on our page mortgage advisor in Almere.
Would you like to know how much room you have to make your home more energy efficient? Book a free introductory meeting at our office on Schoutstraat in Almere, in English or Dutch, and we will work it out with your own figures.