CHOOSE!

Peter Laros, director of BUVA in Barendrecht

Construction needs to get faster and smarter. Everyone agrees on that. But is the route to success also the one with the fewest rules? Opinions are divided on that proposition. Of course everyone wants to experience less regulatory pressure, but clients also expect quality and certainty. Therefore, rules are needed that everyone knows and everyone has a grasp of. Because clarity creates routine ... and routine creates speed.

The construction industry needs a helmsman, someone to steer the ship toward 2030. Because if one thing is clear: the desired 900,000 new homes in six years is getting further and further out of sight. And what do we carry as an excuse for our children? The economic tide was against us, it got more expensive or it was too difficult? A few things are certain: if we don't scale up building production now, housing supply will become even scarcer and housing prices will skyrocket exponentially. We are already seeing this. Existing owner-occupied homes became 21% more expensive over the past three years, while new construction homes rose an average of 5% in price. That's a bargain! The inflation figures show that we can buy 18% less with the euros we receive.

Yet finances are used as an excuse by swaggering parties in government on occasion. As with the tightening of the MPG as of July 1, 2025. This is now under discussion because it would lead to an increase in costs, which is disputed by various parties. But even if sustainable construction costs a few percent more, the motto is: keep going. Not because we necessarily want to look at everything through green glasses, but because every time plans and rules change, the entire building chain is affected, stagnation occurs and prices rise. And - perhaps the biggest obstacle - because it creates uncertainty for everyone.

What negative impact uncertainty has can be seen in companies that supply solar panels. This is pre-eminently an industry that holds its heart with every change of government. Subsidies or no subsidies, VAT or no VAT and now they have to deal with an uncertain balancing regime. The result is that consumers no longer invest and companies fall over. Completely unjustified, because solar panels are still an effective way to generate your own electricity and reduce your energy bill.

We must avoid this scare scenario of constantly changing legislation. Whether it's the MPG, the Wkb, mandatory (hybrid) heat pumps or other regulations. Take the goal as your starting point. If that is increasing sustainability and adding quality: do so, provided that the extra costs do not exceed inflation. You can only improve the future by looking forward. Whereas you cannot change the past; at most you can learn from it. 

We need to send that signal to the government construction-wide: make improvements, but stay the course. It is time for a Master Plan so that we can confidently put our shoulders to the wheel and accelerate this enormous building task.