On October 7 the cabinet announced that from 2029 it wants a smart hybrid heat pump to be the standard when a central heating boiler is replaced, for homes that are not, or will not be, connected to a heat network. A boiler that still works does not have to be replaced. There is no law yet: a bill follows in the spring of 2027, then consultation, and both houses must agree. The Rutte IV cabinet wanted a comparable obligation from 2026; under the Schoof cabinet it was scrapped. The NOS cites roughly €8,000 for a hybrid heat pump including installation, against €2,000 for a boiler; Milieu Centraal calculates lower amounts and the ISDE subsidy lowers the cost.
Heating homes is a large source of CO2 emissions. A hybrid heat pump roughly halves gas use without a house having to be fully renovated. But the plan affects millions of homeowners, and last time it fell on cost.
If you need to replace your boiler in the coming years, nothing changes for now. From 2029 you will pay more up front when replacing it and less per month for gas. Tenants depend on the landlord.
With a clear date, installers and manufacturers can scale up, and prices come down. With the subsidy, the payback time is manageable.
For households with little savings, a few thousand euros extra when a boiler breaks down is out of reach. The plan stranded before for exactly that reason.
The date matters less than the financing. In the bill phase, watch for a loan or scheme for those who cannot pre-finance the investment; without one, the 2023 debate will repeat itself.
Rijksoverheid (Oct. 7) · de Volkskrant · Trouw · De Telegraaf (Oct. 7) · NOS (costs) · Milieu Centraal, as cited
Cabinet wants a hybrid heat pump as the standard after all. From 2029, with a new boiler
Anyone replacing their boiler would then have to choose a smart hybrid heat pump. A working boiler may stay on the wall. The plan fell through on cost before, and that question is back.
The cabinet wants homeowners to switch to a smart hybrid heat pump from 2029 when they replace their central heating boiler. The national government (Rijksoverheid) announced this on Wednesday; the Volkskrant, Trouw, De Telegraaf and the NOS reported it. It concerns a regulatory standard: an ordinary gas boiler would then no longer meet the requirements. The rule applies to homes that are not, or will not be, connected to a heat network. A boiler that still works does not have to go. Nothing has been settled yet. The cabinet wants a bill ready in the spring of 2027, which will then go to consultation, and calls 2029 the earliest possible start. The House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) and the Senate (Eerste Kamer) must still agree. A hybrid heat pump works together with the existing or a new boiler: the pump draws heat from the outside air and the boiler kicks in on cold days. That cuts gas use considerably, without the house having to be fully insulated or renovated.
The idea is not new. The Rutte IV cabinet already wanted to introduce the obligation from 2026. Under the Schoof cabinet the plan was scrapped, after the PVV, NSC, VVD and BBB found the costs for households too high. Those costs are the sticking point now too. A hybrid heat pump including installation easily costs €8,000, against some €2,000 for a new boiler, the NOS calculated. Milieu Centraal comes out lower for an average corner house, and with the ISDE subsidy of just over €2,000 the amount falls further. Set against that is a lower gas bill, because the heat pump does most of the work for most of the year and the boiler only steps in when it is cold. De Telegraaf called it the “forced pump” and quoted readers who call it unaffordable and unworkable. The cabinet says the current pace of replacement is too low to meet the climate targets. Every year hundreds of thousands of boilers are replaced; if that moment is used, the switch will speed up of its own accord, the thinking goes. Installers have pointed to a shortage of skilled workers for years. Nor is every home suitable: poorly insulated homes gain less, and some apartments have no room for an outdoor unit. How exceptions will be handled has not yet been settled. The same day De Telegraaf reported that the cabinet is dropping a plan for new green loans; we could not yet confirm that in a second source. For anyone who needs a new boiler in the coming years, nothing changes for now. It is, however, sensible to have the options calculated now if your boiler is ten years old or older.