A study published on Monday by the Brussels Institute for Statistics and Analysis, IBSA, has found sharp disparities in how Renolution energy renovation grants are distributed across Brussels, with the highest amounts going mainly to wealthier neighbourhoods.
The grants are concentrated chiefly in districts in Uccle, Watermael-Boitsfort, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, and to a lesser extent in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Forest. The lowest grant amounts were recorded in the Pentagon area and neighbourhoods near the Canal.
Although 86% of homes in the Brussels region are flats and only 14% are single-family houses, houses receive 44% of Renolution grants, according to the latest available data.
IBSA said this could be explained by the greater decision-making autonomy of owners of houses when carrying out works. In co-owned apartment buildings, renovation projects often require collective decisions.
The institute also noted that 74% of single-family homeowners live in their own property and are generally in higher socio-economic groups. Owner-occupiers received 51% of the total amounts granted between 2022 and 2025.
“The financial incentives of renovation policies mainly benefit owners who already have the capital and creditworthiness needed to carry out renovation works,” the IBSA said.
The institute added that several factors affected access to grants, including the ability to submit an application, organise works and finance them. It said this raises questions about fairness in access to energy renovation support.
Tenants, low-income households and older people face more barriers to obtaining this type of aid, according to the study.
“The renovation policies based on grant schemes may therefore reinforce existing inequalities, by having different effects on different social groups,” IBSA said.
Brussels Secretary of State Ans Persoons acknowledged the problem. She said that under the Renolution scheme, more than a quarter of the total budget allocated to owner-occupiers had gone to the top 5% to 7% of earners.
“That meant the money was not always reaching the right people, and we want to correct that inequality,” she said.
Persoons said she wanted future policy to reach as many people as possible. She added that the pace of renovation must increase, as it is still below 1% a year and needs to at least triple in order to meet climate targets.
To remove barriers, she proposed two measures. The first is interest-free loans, intended to encourage all households to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
She said the level of support would be adapted to each income bracket, based on the help needed to renovate and insulate a property.
The Government of Brussels is also relying on its Social Climate Plan, under which the focus will be on families and single people facing financial hardship.
For those groups, a social renovation grant and a social renovation loan will be introduced.
