Aarhus Convention
Task Force on Access to Information / EIT Case Study
I. Description
- 1. Brief description: Building passport: an online consolidation of all available information about real estate by homeowners and appointed representatives, focusing on building permits, energy certificates, soil conditions, information on water supply, sewage, dwelling quality, climate resilience, with specific suggested measures for more sustainable energy use and consumption, insulation measurements for buildings, sustainable water management measures for buildings, removing asbestos, etc. The Real Estate Passport is both a digital safe and a personalized guide for all past and future works. It gives access to data and certificates the government keeps in databases.
➔ Only accessible with eID or token, when you are a home-owner in Flanders.
Dummy (example): https://woningpas.vlaanderen.be/c/portal/profile/preview_user
➔ Credentials: user: demo - pass: WqB5iwDdcVjYT!ch
- 2. Type: Governmental information system
- 3. Scope: Sub-regional, local
- 4. Working language(s): Dutch
- 5. Target users: General public (homeowners, future buyers, tenants), building sector, notary/estate agent, local communities
- 6. Starting year: 2018 (Woningpas – dwelling passport) & mid 2024 (Gebouwenpas – building passport non-residential)
- 7. Budget and funding source: Governmental funding, about 1 miljon euro/year (500k€ operational cost (support, hosting, licences, external consulting for PO) and 500k€ design, functional and technical analysis, development, testing and releasing) for both Woningpas (residential) and Gebouwenpas (non residential)
- 8. Contact:
Tine Vande Casteele, Project Manager
Flemish Autority, Flemish Energy & Climate Agency (VEKA)
Tine.vandecasteele[at]vlaanderen.be
0473/92.77.04
II. Implementation
- 9. Policy, legal and institutional context: This cross-policy project is used as an instrument to inform the homeowner. It plays a central role in the 2050 renovation strategy (Renovation Pact). It fits in with a transversal policy approach to a sustainable building renovation approach in which various aspects (such as energy, asbestos, materials, housing quality, etc.) are not dealt with separately, but complement each-other towards a long-term goal on environmental matters. Legal context: Decree concerning building passport, 30th of November 2018.
- 10. Partner organizations involved: Different regional (Flemish) authorities: Vlaams Energie- en Kimaatagentschap, OVAM, Departement Omgeving, Agentschap Wonen in Vlaanderen en Agentschap voor Infrastructuur in het Onderwijs (expansion towards a building passport for non-residential buildings in 2024
- 11. Stakeholders involved, their expected benefits:
- Real estate owners: all formal information about real estate online available in one overview: administrative simplification for the citizen.
- (Future) buyer / tenants of the house: gain a global view of the available reliable, official information about the property that they wish to buy or rent.
- Useful tool for the professional user: energy experts, architects, contractors, installers, policymakers (municipal, intermunicipal, provincial, Flemish government), the real estate sector, notaries, ... to give advice on works to be carried out or to report on preformed works (in order to get access to premiums).
- In general: increase awareness among citizens by informing them about current and future standards, obligations and objectives
- 12. User needs and methods of their assessment: Internet (PC, Tablet, smartphone)
- 13. Technology choice: Webportal (liferay), webservices/API’s
III. Evaluation
- 14. Results: Interactive online application with all known information on real estate /houses with a lot of information on energy, water and other environmental measures, available by the government, to improve sustainable housing. It is a free digital passport, a fast, user-friendly application with information about more than 2.5 million housing units in Flanders!
- 15. Efficiency gains: Very efficient tool in sales transactions of houses (i.e. notary), pro-active and efficient tool to encourage sustainable energy and water measures, removing asbestos in houses.
- 16. Risks: : Inadequate information quality, the information can be outdated, so it has to be updated, a lot of digitalization needed to expand the information that is available in the real-estate passport, collaboration of concerned governmental organizations
- 17. Challenges encountered (please indicate resolved or not): quality of the historic information (i.e. historical building permits) is a real challenge that will be resolved step by step, and by the help of buildingowners. Linking of information of different partners/sources to one unique building-unit (on going)
- 18. Lessons learned: Starting small with feasible targets
- 19. Conditions for successful replication: Collaboration of all partners
- 20. Overall assessment of the tool: very successful, growing application
