Government wants to cut EPV rates as net metering ends

The EPV has existed since 2016 and solves a classic problem in deep retrofits of rental homes: the landlord invests in insulation and solar panels, but the benefit of the low energy bill lands with the tenant. That mismatch is known as the split incentive. The EPV allows the landlord to charge a monthly fee on top of the rent, provided the home delivers a guaranteed, highly energy-efficient performance with substantial on-site generation. Think of net-zero-energy homes.

The principle behind the scheme: the tenant's total housing costs, meaning rent plus EPV plus energy bill, should remain comparable to those of a tenant in a conventionally retrofitted home without an EPV. The tenant pays a fee, but gets a very low energy bill in return.

An EPV home is by definition a home with substantial on-site generation. As long as net metering applies, the tenant offsets that generation against consumption on the annual bill, and the energy bill stays as intended: close to zero. From 1 January 2027 that changes. Power drawn from the grid is paid in full, and exported power receives a separate feed-in payment with a legal floor of 50 percent of the bare supply rate, until at least 2030.

The result: the tenant's energy bill rises while the EPV initially stays the same, putting the housing-cost principle of the scheme under pressure. Research by the housing ministry together with Aedes and the Woonbond confirmed last year that tenants with solar panels are in most cases financially worse off after net metering ends. How the new annual bill works out for a household is covered in our earlier article on the end of the net metering scheme.

Lower maximum EPV rates mean less operating income on existing EPV homes, while the investment in those homes has already been made. For new retrofit projects the maths shift: a business case that leans on exporting to the grid becomes more fragile, while one built on self-consumption inside the home does not.

Three things you can do now. First: calculate per complex what the proposal means for your operating income, so the final rates do not catch you off guard. Second: keep an eye on the final amendment of the EPV decree. Only then are the new maximum rates fixed. Third: prepare tenant communication. Tenants in EPV homes will start asking questions as soon as the first new-style annual bill arrives, and a landlord who can explain that story clearly prevents a lot of discussion.

A landlord cannot change the rates in the decree. The balance between export and self-consumption is a different matter. Every kilowatt-hour of solar power used inside the home is worth the full supply rate after 2027; every kilowatt-hour sent to the grid only a fraction of that. The ministry is looking at the role of storage and smart steering in softening the impact in that same light.

In practice there are two routes. A home battery per dwelling shifts the midday surplus from the panels to the evening, making the tenant less dependent on the feed-in payment. And smart steering, from hot water boiler to charge point, moves consumption into the hours when the panels generate; how that works is explained in smart home energy management. To be fair: a battery per dwelling is a serious investment that needs to be calculated per complex, not an automatic reflex. But anyone already facing the question of how EPV homes stay viable without net metering should include this route in every calculation.

SolarFast guides housing associations through making their stock more sustainable, from inventory and tenant communication to installation and aftercare. Our page for housing associations explains how we approach that.

This is still a proposal, not a final decision. The public consultation closed on 16 August 2026. The ministry is processing the responses into the final amendment of the EPV decree. The intended start date of the new rates is 1 January 2027, coinciding with the end of the net metering scheme. The exact level of the new maximum rates is therefore not yet fixed.

We are following the process and will update this article once the final rates are known.

The end of net metering reaches into the rental sector: the EPV rates are expected to come down to keep tenants' housing costs in balance, shifting part of the bill to landlords. Those who run the numbers on their portfolio now and build the retrofit business case on self-consumption rather than export will be in a much stronger position in 2027.

Do you manage rental homes with solar panels, or are you planning a retrofit project? Put your situation to us and we will think along on generation, storage and smart steering for your stock.