Region Leiden

Many tenants want to know more in detail what DUWO is doing to make its buildings in Leiden more sustainable. “When are you going to make my house more sustainable?” is what we hear more often. Unfortunately, we often cannot give that answer precisely. We still have to make many of our assets more sustainable, but we cannot deal with everything at once. 

New buildings 
In the recent years newly build complexes have always been sustainable and, given the still great need for extra accommodation, it is also essential to keep building them. After the recently build complex at Lammenschans, a student tower is now under construction at Kolffpad. After that, we want to add a lot of new student accommodation at the Rhijngeest (Oegstgeest) and Zoeterwoudseweg (Praxis) locations. Together with the municipality, we also want to develop new locations with sufficient affordable homes. 

Existing property 
In addition to the necessary expansion of our property, we must also make our existing activities more sustainable. Before 2029, buildings may not have an E, F or G energy label. This is laid down in the national performance agreements. The monuments are excluded from this. For Leiden, this means that the following complexes will have to be updated if DUWO wants to continue renting out these buildings. 

• Kaiserstraat 22 – 26 

• Middelsegracht 20 

• Schelpenkade 34 

• Wassenaarseweg 23 - 193 

• Flanorpad 1 – 9 

• Rijn en Schiekade

• Pelikaanhof

The labeling of a number of complexes that are not on this list must be determined more precisely to see whether they should also be included on the list of properties. So the list will continue to grow. 

DUWO investigates which approach is needed for each complex. Sometimes smaller measures can already achieve sufficient improvement of the energy label. But sometimes we also need to take a bigger approach. We are currently doing this at Flanorpad, for example. In addition to improvement of sustainability, the kitchen and bathrooms also need to be done. The balconies are disappearing because there is too much nuisance for the neighbourhood. Such a major intervention requires temporary relocation of our tenants. That is of course quite a puzzle because we do not have empty buildings where we can temporarily house large groups. 

Various scenarios are considered for the approach to a building. We will only communicate this with the residents once DUWO has chosen which scenario is most desirable. We do this because it makes a big difference whether you can continue to stay during the renovation or whether you have to leave your room. This has an impact on you and that is why we first want to be able to offer more certainty, concerning planning, for example. After we announce that we are going to start with a complex, further elaboration will follow. For example, all kinds of research must show what exactly needs to be done. This is being further elaborated so that a contractor can also carry it out properly. 

It is therefore not possible to plan all complexes in advance. 

Monuments 
The monuments are exempt from the national performance agreements. DUWO Leiden does have many monuments. We are also very proud of that. Our monuments look good, but they are often not yet energy efficient. We also have a big challenge here. In our sustainability policy, DUWO has set the target that our property must be CO2 neutral by 2050. That is why we have already started. National monument Papengracht 17 has been made more sustainable in 2021. In 2022 we started work on the national monuments Hooigracht 34a and 36. At the end of 2023 we want to start with the buildings Vliet 11, 13 and 15. 

The approach to these monuments is large-scale. Almost everything must be updated. This means that the residents temporarily need new accommodation and that means that we cannot work on many buildings at the same time. Moreover, it is still difficult to go without gas in the center of Leiden. For example, there is no heat network. ‘Green’ gas and hydrogen are not yet sufficiently available. That also makes it more logical to schedule monuments later and they are therefore not part of the national performance agreements. 

Smaller measures 
In the meantime, we are busy with other measures. As many peaple, our tenants see the high energy costs. It’s important to work on a more energy-efficient way of life. This alone can already result in considerable savings. With the Climate Route company, we want to visit our buildings to take small measures such as draft strips and radiator foil in addition to dialogue. Because it is precisely the combination of dialogue about energy savings and measures that we find important. It bears the most fruit.

See below for more information and other promotions in the region. 

Leiden

In collaboration with the municipality of Leiden, DUWO placed approximately 100 Sanura Flatmate. The Flatmate can recover heat from shower water. In order to use it as efficiently as possible, the Flatmate is used in student houses where a large group of tenants use one shower. 

In collaboration with the municipality of Leiden, approximately 2,500 homes will be visited by Climate Route! This will take place during 2023. The financing comes from the municipality of Leiden together with the tenants' organization BRES.

Leiderdorp

DUWO tenants could visit the Woonwijzer shop to receive a free voucher worth 75 euros to spend on energy-saving products.

Oegstgeest

There are currently no specific promotions for DUWO tenants in the municipality of Oegstgeest. As soon as there’s more information, we will inform you here.

Voorschoten

There are currently no specific promotions for DUWO tenants in the municipality of Voorschoten. As soon as there’s more information, we will inform you here.

Please note: it is possible that not all information behind the links is available in English

Help with payment problems

Due to rising prices and high energy bills, people are more at risk of payment arrears. That is why new agreements have been made about preventing evictions due to rent arrears. DUWO makes every effort within its possibilities to reach tailor-made agreements with residents in need of money and can inform the municipality in urgent cases, so that residents can receive (debt) help more quickly. Residents with imminent payment problems can also go to their municipality for help themselves. For information, they can go to Geldfit.nl or call 0800-8115 (free and anonymous)....