Verduurzamingsverplichtingen in het omgevingsplan

The sustainability of the built environment, such as connecting buildings to a sustainable heating system, is a municipal responsibility in Dutch climate policy. The question is whether municipalities have the instruments to translate this policy into regulations and whether the law limits the application thereof, for example whenever these rules require owners to modify their energy supply system in the interest of climate change. This research explores how municipal guidance on the sustainability of the built environment can be implemented in the environmental plan under the Environmental Act. This plan will be a crucial municipal instrument for the sustainability of the energy supply in the future and may also include unconditional obligations for owners. Therefore, the research investigates the principles based on which rules can be established for the energy transition in the environmental plan, and how these relate to rules set for the production and supply of energy. Additionally, it explores whether municipalities can set quality requirements or recover costs, for example, for utilities in new building locations. The possibility of imposing unconditional obligations is limited by legal principles. For existing building owners, an obligation, for example, must be proportionate, and for owner-occupiers, there is an additional protection based on the right to privacy and housing. A proportionate obligation must be feasible, not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the goal, and not lead to a disproportionate burden for individual owners. The research concludes, based on comparable obligations, including in Germany, that the compulsory investment associated with a unconditional obligation must be compensated if it is not profitable for owners within the exploitation period.

Dissertation: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/2ebb45ef-1d3e-4451-a807-45ca16e77c31