Building Code in Need of Renovation: Ambitious and Harmonious Regulations Are a Prerequisite for Industrial Scaling Up

The Building Code is like a house with an outdated and sagging foundation; the electrical outlets don’t match the wiring, and there are leaks everywhere. Yet regulations are desperately needed, says Dick van Ginkel of TBI WOONlab. “Because ambitious national policy is not a competitor to industrial construction—it is, in fact, a prerequisite for it.” 

TBI, of which TBI WOONlab is a part, consciously sees itself as a steward, in line with our Steward-ownership philosophy: what we build today is what our children and grandchildren will inherit. From that perspective of stewardship, building regulations are not an obstacle to us, but rather the foundation for responsible, climate-resilient, and future-proof neighborhoods and cities. And that is precisely where the problem lies. 

Imagine the BBL as a house. Completed in 1992 as the Building Decree, it got an addition in 2003, a dormer window in 2012, and a new facade in 2024 under the Environment Act. With each renovation, a new room was added: energy, sustainability, safety, quality assurance, environmental performance, and now European CO₂-guidance. 

The result? A house with plenty of patchwork and little major maintenance. An outdated, sinking foundation, electrical outlets that don’t match the wiring, and rooms that, frankly, have leaks. Moreover, this house doesn’t stand alone; it’s located in an area facing grid congestion, nitrogen pollution, Natura 2000 concerns, overheating, and water issues. In this regard as well, the Bbl, the Energy Act, the Heat Act, the Environment Act, and the revised EPBD IV do not yet align clearly enough with one another. 

Because even within a single topic, the same information is interpreted differently. Fire safety is a striking example: the Bbl sets the performance requirement, the related (voluntary) NEN standard uses its own (calculation) principles, the consulting firm substantiates its case using an equivalent approach, and the regional fire department advises based on its own practical guidelines. Four players, four interpretations of the same map. The result? Months of discussions, a business case that’s slipping away, and an industrial concept that still has to be proven anew for each project. For building on an industrial and future-proof scale, that’s fatal. 

And this is where our argument gets to the heart of the matter. From a stewardship perspective, we ask not Rather than less climate ambition, we call for a harmonious and ambitious, European-aligned climate framework in the BBL, with a clear roadmap toward 2030, 2040, and 2050. Because every gap in national policy is filled by municipalities with their own sustainability initiatives and tender requirements. Well-intentioned, but collectively fatal to industrial upscaling.  

We cannot deliver a housing concept that is subject to different CO₂ requirements in the province of Utrecht than in Amsterdam; we can only do so on a project-by-project basis, and in doing so, we lose speed, quality, repeatability, and affordability. Ambitious national policy is therefore not a competitor to industrial construction; rather, it is a prerequisite for it. 

Our approach is therefore SLIM: Scoherence, LNational and European alignment, IIndustrially applicable, MFocus on impact. 

The Building Decree needs a major overhaul. Not demolition, not just a quick fix, but a renovation in which we embed ambitious climate policy, align it with European standards, and make it digitally applicable. Only then will our sector be ready for 2050. 

Position Paper 

This text was originally written as an oral contribution to supplement the TBI WOONlab position paper for the roundtable discussion on building regulations organized by the House Committee on Housing and Spatial Planning (VRO). During this meeting, representatives from the construction sector, academia, and government were scheduled to discuss with members of Parliament the impact of existing regulations on innovation, accelerating housing construction, and sustainability. Unfortunately, this roundtable discussion was first postponed and later canceled entirely due to the lack of a sufficient number of members from the standing parliamentary committee.

Dick van Ginkel wonders whether this important topic is receiving enough political attention. That is why he is publishing TBI WOONlab’s vision on this topic after all.