Berlinda van DamHuis with foundation damage in Zaandam
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 00:01
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Judith van de Hulsbeek
editor Climate and Energy
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Judith van de Hulsbeek
editor Climate and Energy
More information is needed about what climate risks homeowners face. For example, they often know little about the risk of flooding and foundation damage due to pile rot or subsidence and therefore do not take these risks into account in their purchase. A mandatory climate label could prevent this, the banks ABN Amro, ING and Rabobank write in a report on climate change and the housing market.
“It is time for the Netherlands to take off the blindfold, because we are now pretending that there is no climate risk,” says ABN Amro chief economist Sandra Phlippen.
The banks write that climate policy and climate change will make housing considerably more expensive in the near future. The largest – and most expensive – challenge, according to the report, is making all homes and buildings more sustainable. Billions will also be needed to adapt public spaces to flooding, drought and heat.
The third major cost item is repairing foundations that subside or rot due to drought, low groundwater levels and soil subsidence, problems that are exacerbated by climate change. According to the Knowledge Center for Approach to Foundation Problems (KCAF), one million rental and owner-occupied homes are at a significant risk of foundation damage in the next thirty years. The problems are already urgent for a quarter of a million homes. In total, many billions are needed to tackle these problems.
‘The Netherlands can handle it’
Yet the message from the banks is also: we can handle these costs in a rich country like the Netherlands. “There is a lot of surplus value in the housing market, many owners can afford sustainability and also limited climate damage,” says Ester Barendregt (Rabobank). And a large part of the foundation damage can be repaired with a few thousand eurosthey write.
The danger mainly exists for individual households that, for example, have to replace the entire foundation. Calculations by the KCAF show that the average cost amounts to 54,000 euros, rising to one hundred thousand euros. Damage amounts after flooding can also be very high. While these risks cannot practically be insured.
At the moment, many homeowners and buyers do not know whether there are climate risks. Research by the Eigen Huis Association previously showed that more than 60 percent of homeowners in flood areas were not aware of the risks. For foundation risks this is even 85 percent.
According to the banks, a mandatory climate label should change this. This means that future home buyers know what they are getting into. At the same time, it can of course also pose a danger to homeowners, but the banks consider this of secondary importance. “It may indeed be the case that such a label makes it clear for certain houses that the risk is greater than thought, and that this is reflected in the price,” says Barendregt. “But that is fair for the future buyer. He then gets value for his money.” Money should be made available for homeowners who need help repairing their property.
There is still little information available at ‘house level’ about climate risks. However, there is data about the possible risks per district. NOS op 3 has designed a climate stress test for your neighborhood based on public information:
Such a climate label is still quite complicated. “For a climate label at house level, you have to take many different things into account, but it is possible,” says Jan Kadijk of the Dutch Green Building Council. This NGO, together with thirty parties, developed an approach to map climate risks of buildings. “It’s not just about the location, the foundation and the land on which a house is built. Building characteristics also determine whether there is a danger. Do you have a basement, a lot of glass in your facade, how high is your threshold?”
The Homeowners Association therefore does not see this happening very soon. “You would have to fully ‘inspect’ and inspect every house,” says a spokesperson. That takes far too much time and a lot of money.” An investigation into the condition of the foundation can easily cost a few thousand euros.
Although they themselves advocate it, the authors of the report also have concerns if climate risks were better reflected in house prices. It could lead to a ‘climate divide’: the danger that people with less to spend end up living in the places with the most climate risks, because houses are cheaper there. “There must be enough money left to repair any damage,” says Phlippen of ABN Amro. The banks also see a role for themselves there as mortgage providers.
2024-02-20 23:01:39
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