The outgoing Brussels Government has confirmed that residents of the Capital Region can again request grants for energy-saving renovations through the "Renolution" subsidy portal. New applications had been paused as funds ran dry.
The "Renolution" premiums were introduced in Brussels in 2022, merging the separate energy and renovation premiums that were previously available. It allows Brussels residents to recover part of the cost of the renovation and energy-saving works in an effort to speed up the renovation of Brussels buildings to reduce their energy consumption.
However, these grants became a victim of their own success this summer, as money ran out due to the large demand. While the budget for these grants has risen from €22 million in 2019 to €69 million this year, this still was not enough to cope with the sharp rise in applications. Already by the end of July, the 2024 budget was completely exhausted and there was a €71.8 million shortfall to pay the premiums for the pending files.
Residents in the process of applying for the grants were told they would have to wait until January 2025 to be reimbursed and new applications were put on hold. The outgoing government cannot carry out the necessary budget transfers, leaving it up to the next Brussels Government to allocate additional budget resources.
However, as talks to form a coalition have stalled, and following a public outcry, the parties of the future French-speaking majority (MR-PS-Les Engagés) in the Brussels Parliament have adopted a resolution to restart the system. The document outlined the need for the next regional government to provide the necessary budgetary resources so that Brussels residents who have carried out renovation work can benefit from the grants.
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For pending files submitted before 16 August, reimbursements resumed at the end of October. On Thursday, the Brussels Government formally approved the immediate reopening of the subsidy portal for applications, meaning new files can again be processed.
"Thanks to this express request from Parliament, the outgoing Brussels government, whose ability to act on current affairs is limited, has released an exceptional budget of €71.8 million to meet the demand for subsidies in 2024," outgoing Minister-President Rudi Vervoort (PS) said.
