Constraint

Building without natural gas

In the Netherlands new build is no longer connected to natural gas, and municipalities set out per neighbourhood when existing housing comes off it. That sits in a heat programme, with neighbourhoods, years and a chosen solution. Every programme is a workload with someone accountable attached.

What is this constraint?

Since the obligation to connect to gas was dropped, new build no longer runs on gas. For existing neighbourhoods every municipality writes a heat programme: which neighbourhood comes off gas when, and with which solution. A heat network, a heat pump per home, or something in between.

That programme is not paper without consequences. It decides where housing associations plan their refurbishments, where the municipality frees up money and which neighbourhoods go first. A council decision makes budget and timing firm, and from that moment there is a project lead with a brief.

This constraint often runs straight into another one. One draft heat programme from late 2025 states in as many words that grid congestion blocks the heat plan for every business park in that municipality. Where heat demand is solved electrically, the connection is the next problem. That is one phone call with two subjects.

There is no national register tracking how far each municipality has got, neighbourhood by neighbourhood. Modou has no dedicated heat monitor for this. What every municipality does publish is its heat programme, its neighbourhood delivery plans and its council decisions. Those sit as dated text in the notices and agendas Modou reads every working day, and the buying that follows sits in the tenders.

Which documents it shows up in

Municipal heat programmes and heat strategies: Why that is a reason to callThese state which neighbourhood comes off gas when and which solution the municipality has in mind. It sits there as a draft before it is final.
Council decisions on heat networks and delivery plans: Why that is a reason to callA council decision makes budget and timing firm. From that moment there is someone with a brief and a phone number.
Environmental permits for new build: Why that is a reason to callNew build no longer runs on gas. Every permit is therefore an installation question with an address on it.
Municipal and housing association tenders for retrofit: Why that is a reason to callThese carry numbers of homes and years. That is the size of what someone is about to buy.

Who sells into this

Construction suppliers

Insulation, window frames and glazing for existing homes
Prefab facade and roof elements for refurbishment
Plant rooms, pipework and heat emitters

Energy companies

Heat pumps and heat emission systems
Heat networks, substations and delivery sets
Installation and maintenance capacity for neighbourhood programmes
Advice and engineering for neighbourhood delivery plans

Example from a public document

Energy company

What happened

In a draft heat programme a municipality sets out which five neighbourhoods come off gas first. The same document states that grid congestion is blocking the heat plan for its business parks.

Source:: Municipal gazette, draft decision
Date:: December 2025

Why this matters to you

Five neighbourhoods with a year attached is a workload for heat pumps, insulation, installation and grid reinforcement. The block on the business parks is a second opening.

Why now

A draft decision is open for comment before it becomes final. That is the moment the municipality is still listening to what is technically feasible.

Who to call

Municipal heat transition project lead

Phone number, where publicly findable
LinkedIn, where publicly findable

This example comes from a public document.

Frequently asked questions

A draft decision is not final yet. Why would I call?

Precisely because it is not final. A draft is open for comment before the council decides. That is the last moment anyone can still hear what is technically feasible and what a solution costs. Call once the decision is out and you are discussing a choice already made.

I supply housing associations, not municipalities.

Then the heat programme is still your calendar. Associations plan their refurbishments around the neighbourhoods the municipality picks first, and their tenders follow. The programme tells you one to two years ahead where that will happen.

Want to know which neighbourhoods near you are next?

Plan a six-week pilot. Every working day you get the heat programmes, council decisions and tenders from your area, with source, date and who to call.

Plan a pilot Run the opportunity check