Money soon to be made available for ‘block heating’

Now that energy prices are going through the roof, the Dutch government is trying to cushion the impact felt by its citizens by introducing a price cap. Basically, it sets a maximum price up to a specific level of consumption per connection. Households already received a 380-euro discount on their bill in the months of November and December.

But, in some buildings, all tenants share a single connection. That's because they're served by the so-called "block heating" or their landlord closed a single deal with the energy provider, resulting in a single contract. As a result, they consume too much energy to benefit from a price cap and they also miss out on the 380-euro discount.

The government plans to come up with a solution to that situation as well. At the end of last year, the Minister for Climate and Energy Policy, Rob Jetten, outlined a special scheme in which landlords would be able to apply for a subsidy on behalf of their tenants with the Tax and Customs Administration.

On course
Everyone is working hard to make this a reality, says Jos Bakker, policy officer at Kences, the umbrella organisation of student housing providers. Although unforeseen circumstances might crop up, he believes that the ministry is on course to go public with the scheme in February, as already announced by Minister Jetten.

Tenants who have their own front door will still get the 380-euro discount. As for tenants of housing units that are not "self-contained", they will get some of that amount. The main question is how much subsidy each occupant will get as a counterpart to the price cap from which other people benefit. That depends in part on the energy price and the average energy consumption.

Landlords will get the money in two rounds. That gives rise to a degree of uncertainty, says Bakker, because by law they are not allowed to change their service charges more than once a year and the energy price for the second round is not yet known.

How fast?
Landlords would prefer students to pay the exact amount of service charges every month, so they don't get a substantial refund in the final settlement. “Otherwise, they will only get the money after a year.” On the other hand, if they make too low an estimate of the service charges, tenants will have to pay an additional amount later.

The details have yet to be announced. But Bakker is confident and does not expect any problems. “We are doing everything we can to ensure our tenants are compensated in a way that does justice to their situation.”