Household sustainability loan
Borrow €2,500–€25,000 for solar panels or insulation in your existing home in Leiden, after municipal approval and an SVn check that you can repay.
Questa opportunità è attualmente disponibile in inglese.
The municipal Duurzaamheidslening finances energy improvements. SVn provides the loan, and Omgevingsdienst West-Holland (ODWH) handles applications and invoices for the municipality.
Use the loan for solar panels and wall, roof, floor, window, ground and cavity-wall insulation; window frames can be included with window insulation. Necessary associated regular maintenance can also be included. The accepted costs are reduced by subsidies and other third-party contributions you receive or expect to receive. If you install the measures yourself, only materials can be financed.
You can borrow €2,500–€7,499 for 10 years, or €7,500–€25,000 for 15 years. The local rule caps a loan at €25,000 per applicant, and multiple loans together cannot exceed €25,000 for the same home/address. SVn's rate table showed an indicative annual rate of 1.70% for both terms when checked on 12 October 2026. Your rate is set when SVn receives your application and remains fixed for the whole term. There are no closing fees; any financial adviser you use is at your own expense. SVn provides the loan without personal financial advice.
SVn holds the money in a separate account for your improvements, called a bouwdepot, rather than paying you an unrestricted cash sum. After the work is completed, ODWH approves your claim and SVn pays the supplier, or reimburses you if you provide proof that you paid the supplier. The account normally lasts 12 months and you can request one extension of up to 12 more months. It closes when all funds are drawn or the work is finished, and always by 24 months. SVn may also close it after six months without transactions. Unused money reduces your loan balance. Interest credited on the account for up to 12 months is offset against your periodic payment. You pay any shortfall from your own funds; you cannot deposit your own money in the account, and banking charges for such transactions as foreign or urgent payments are passed on to you.
This is an unsecured personal loan: no mortgage security is created. You repay it through regular instalments containing interest and repayment of the amount borrowed. You must still repay if your installer fails to fulfil its agreement. You can repay all or part early without a fee, with a minimum extra repayment of €250. After partial early repayment SVn adjusts your periodic payment; if it would fall below €35, SVn may shorten the term instead.
Eligibility
- You must privately own an existing home in Leiden and live there, or intend to move into it. The home must be suitable for permanent habitation and used as a main residence. All co-owners must consent.
- At least one applicant must be younger than 76. SVn allows a municipality to agree an exception through an additional agreement; the standard age rule applies unless such an agreement covers your application. SVn independently checks that your financial situation is stable enough to carry the extra monthly payments alongside existing commitments. Expected future energy savings cannot count towards affordability, and home equity does not determine this credit assessment.
- Do not start the measures or works before the loan has been established. The actual costs must be at least €2,500 and reasonable in relation to the result. Applications are assessed in order of arrival and refused if the budget cannot cover them.
- Each joint borrower is liable for the whole debt. Late payments attract statutory interest and may incur administration and collection costs. Collection, demanding repayment, release from joint liability and changing the loan type can also generate costs.
- SVn can demand the whole outstanding debt immediately in specified circumstances: at least two months of missed instalments followed by continued failure after a default notice; leaving, or an expected imminent departure from, your permanent residence in the Netherlands; death where SVn has good reason to expect nonpayment; bankruptcy or statutory personal debt restructuring; or deliberately giving material false information when taking out the loan, including failing to use it fully for the agreed measures.
How to apply
- Stato
- Aperto continuamente
- Restrizioni del bando
- The 2026 household allocation is €1,250,000. Applications are assessed in order of arrival and refused once the ceiling is reached; municipal allocation and SVn credit approval are required.[^c6][^c7][^c19]
- Apply first through the ODWH form linked on the municipal programme page. Provide the planned measures, substantiated costs and an execution schedule. For contractor work, attach quotations showing the date, contractor name and address, owner's name, installation address and price including VAT for each measure. For self-installation, attach order receipts. Solar quotations and invoices must show capacity in Watt peak; insulation quotations and invoices must show the area in square metres. Include the completed signed truth declaration.
- If documents are missing, you normally have four weeks to supply them before the application is no longer processed. A decision follows within eight weeks of a complete application. Municipal allocation reserves budget and specifies the measures, amount and term; it does not replace SVn's credit assessment.
- Apply to SVn within eight weeks of the allocation date, including the allocation letter; otherwise the allocation expires. Complete the SVn digital application within 12 weeks of starting it. SVn assesses your creditworthiness and issues a loan offer after approval.
- After completing the work, send SVn's declaration form with invoices and, where reimbursement is requested, proof of payment to ODWH at duurzaam@odwh.nl. ODWH's approval lets SVn pay the supplier or reimburse you from the improvement account.