What do you risk without an energy label?
If you sell or let without a valid energy label, you are in breach of the label obligation. The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate supervises this and can take enforcement action.
Contents
When are you in breach?
The obligation applies at the moment of sale, letting or handover. Since 29 May 2026 the obligation also applies to major renovations, to renewing or extending a tenancy agreement and to listed buildings. There must then be a valid energy label registered in EP-Online, and the buyer or tenant must receive it.
A label is valid for ten years. An expired label therefore does not count, and a label from before 2021 was determined with a different calculation method.
Who enforces it?
The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate is the supervisory authority for homes and can impose an administrative fine. Since 1 January 2026 that fine is €550 per home sold or handed over for a private individual and €1,100 for a company or other legal entity. For offices with the label C obligation the municipality enforces, and it can prohibit use of the building as an office.
What does an energy label for your home cost?
Enter your postcode and see the advisors, their price and delivery time straight away.
What if it goes wrong at the sale?
In practice you tend to run into it earlier: notaries and estate agents check the label at transfer, and without one the conveyance can be delayed. That usually costs more than the label itself.
How do you avoid it?
Request the label as soon as you decide to sell or let, not in the week of the transfer. Most advisors deliver within a few days, but the assessment still has to be scheduled. Through Energielabel24 you see the price and the delivery time per advisor up front, and an energy label costs between €150 and €495.
Not sure whether a label already exists? You can look that up in EP-Online, the national register.
The label obligation in numbers
| Required when | Selling, letting and handover |
| Supervisor for homes | Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) |
| Supervisor for offices | The municipality, for the label C obligation |
| Sanction | An administrative fine: €550 per home for a private individual and €1,100 for a company or other legal entity (2026) |
| Label validity | 10 years |
| Practical risk | Delay at transfer, because the notary and estate agent check the label |
Frequently asked questions
How high is the fine for a missing energy label?
The ILT imposes an administrative fine per home sold or handed over. Since 1 January 2026 that is €550 for a private individual and €1,100 for a company or other legal entity. The amounts follow from the policy rule on these fines and from article 23(4) of the Dutch Criminal Code.
Who checks whether there is a label?
In practice you notice it earlier at the notary and the estate agent, who check the label at transfer. Separately, the ILT supervises the label obligation.
Does the obligation apply when selling to family?
Yes. The obligation attaches to the transfer, not to who the buyer is.
I have a label, but it has expired. Is that enough?
No. A label is valid for ten years; after that it no longer counts and a new assessment is needed.
Sources
The rules and definitions on this page come from the official sources below. Last checked on 24 September 2026.
- 1Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT), enforcement of the energy label on sale or letting (in Dutch) (opens in a new tab)
- 2Government of the Netherlands, energy labels for homes and buildings (opens in a new tab)
- 3EP-Online, the national register of registered energy labels (opens in a new tab)
- 4Beleidsregel boeteoplegging verkoop en oplevering woning zonder geldig energielabel 2024-2, the policy rule on these fines, wetten.overheid.nl (in Dutch) (opens in a new tab)
- 5Staatsblad 2025, 401: the amounts of the fine categories in article 23(4) of the Criminal Code from 1 January 2026, first category €550 (in Dutch) (opens in a new tab)
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The facts and figures in this guide were checked.
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