Ikike Iwu Okpomọkụ: oke ọnụahịa, ụgwọ ọrụ na mwepụ

If you are connected to a Dutch heat network, the Heat Act (Warmtewet) gives you rights your supplier cannot contract away: a maximum price set by the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), compensation after a serious outage, protection against disconnection in winter and access to an independent disputes committee. The main exception: if your landlord or owners’ association supplies the heat, most of the Act does not apply and the price is assessed under rent law.

The protection covers anyone with a heat connection of up to 100 kilowatt (kW), households and small businesses alike. Its successor, the Collective Heat Act (Wet collectieve warmte, Wcw), has been published but its main chapters are not yet in force, so in October 2026 the Heat Act still governs your rights.

Why does the Heat Act exist?

You cannot switch heat supplier, so the law regulates the relationship instead of leaving it to the market. A building connected to district heating is connected to one physical network, run by one company.

The connection is often not a free choice either: municipalities plan heat districts, new-build homes are often delivered without a gas connection, and a landlord may have connected a whole building. The rules sit in three layers. The Heat Act contains the rights and duties, the Heat Decree (Warmtebesluit) works out tariffs and metering, and the Heat Regulation (Warmteregeling) sets details such as outage compensation and the protection of vulnerable consumers. The ACM supervises compliance.

For the wider background, see our article on Okpomọkụ mpaghara na Warmtewet na Netherlands, na na ọghọm nke netwọk kpo oku district.

Who is protected by the Heat Act?

You are protected if you have an individual connection of up to 100 kW. The capacity decides, not whether you are a private person or a business.

Article 1 of the Heat Act calls this protected user a consumer (verbruiker). A shop, a dental practice or a small office with an ordinary connection therefore has the same tariff protection and compensation rights as a household. A landlord or owners’ association with a larger central connection that supplies such users also counts as a consumer. A business with its own connection above 100 kW falls outside the Act: its price, term and termination follow only from the supply agreement.

What if your heat comes from your landlord or owners’ association?

Then most of the Heat Act does not apply. Article 1a excludes heat that a landlord supplies to its own tenants and heat that an owners’ association (vereniging van eigenaars, VvE) supplies to its members.

This is where most misunderstandings arise. Block heating (blokverwarming) supplied by the landlord is not covered by the ACM maximum price, the outage compensation or the disputes committee. Only the metering, cost-allocation and billing rules of Articles 8, 8a and 8b still apply. For the price, a residential tenant relies on rent law: the heat is a service charge (servicekosten), which the Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie) can assess at your request.

How does the maximum price protect you?

The ACM sets the highest tariff a supplier may charge each year under Article 5 of the Heat Act, and publishes it in the Government Gazette (Staatscourant). Under Article 2(3) your supplier may not charge more, so you can reclaim any excess.

The maximum consists of a usage-based charge per gigajoule and a fixed charge (vastrecht). Separate ACM caps apply to the one-off connection contribution (Article 6), to putting the delivery set into use, and to metering and disconnection. A supplier can stay under the cap on the gigajoule price and still exceed it on a fixed item, so check every line.

How is the maximum calculated?

Under Article 5(2) the maximum is based on what a consumer would pay to obtain the same amount of heat using gas. This is the not-more-than-otherwise principle (niet meer dan anders).

That link to the gas price has been criticised for years, because it has little to do with the actual costs of a heat network. Under Article 7 the ACM therefore monitors suppliers’ returns; if a supplier’s return on all its networks together exceeds a reasonable return set by the ACM, its future maximum tariffs can be corrected downwards. Because the maximum changes every year, always check the ACM tariff decision for the year in question.

What can you claim after an outage?

After a serious outage you are entitled to fixed compensation under Article 3a of the Heat Act, without proving any loss. Actual damage can be claimed on top under the ordinary rules of the Dutch Civil Code.

Article 2(1) requires your supplier to ensure reliable supply on reasonable terms and with good service quality, and to send a complete, itemised bill at least once a year. That standard supports claims about repeated outages, lukewarm delivery and poor complaint handling.

When does the compensation apply?

Compensation is due when the cause lies in the heat network, the supplier’s delivery set, the connection or the in-building pipework. The Heat Regulation sets the amounts, which rise with the length of the outage.

Two exceptions in Article 3a(2) decide most cases. No compensation is due for an outage of less than 24 hours if there was no earlier outage in the same network or delivery set in the preceding 12 months. Nor is it due for an extreme situation that cannot be attributed to the supplier or network operator. An ordinary technical failure, postponed maintenance or a shortage of engineers will usually remain the supplier’s own business risk.

Can you claim more than the fixed compensation?

Yes. The compensation is a statutory minimum, not a ceiling. If the outage caused real loss, such as spoiled stock or the cost of temporary heating, you can claim damages for breach of contract under Article 6:74 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW). Report the failure in writing, note the start and end times and keep the receipts, because you must prove that loss yourself.

When may a heat supplier cut you off?

Only as a last resort, and in winter hardly ever. Article 4(1) of the Heat Act requires your supplier to do everything reasonably possible to prevent disconnection, in particular between 1 October and 1 April.

Before disconnecting for non-payment, the supplier must follow the steps in Article 5 of the Heat Regulation. It sends a reminder pointing out the option of a payment arrangement and of debt assistance (schuldhulpverlening), and it must offer a reasonable payment arrangement. The supplier may not stop the supply if an arrangement is agreed within a reasonable period and kept. If these steps are skipped, you can challenge the disconnection and demand that supply is restored.

Is there extra protection for vulnerable consumers?

Yes. Under Article 6 of the Heat Regulation, a supplier may not disconnect a vulnerable consumer for non-payment if disconnection would cause very serious health risks, shown by a statement from a doctor who is not the person’s own treating doctor.

If supply was already stopped, the supplier must restore it once that statement is provided. If someone in your household depends on heat for health reasons, tell your supplier in writing and early.

What about planned maintenance?

Under Article 4(2) your supplier must notify you at least three days in advance of planned work that interrupts your supply. Keep the announcement letters and compare them with the actual outage times; that is the simplest way to build a file.

Can you terminate your heat contract?

Yes, in principle. Article 3c of the Heat Act lets you terminate the supply agreement, but the supplier may refuse if ending the supply is technically impossible or would cause considerable lasting harm to another consumer.

This right only applies to contracts concluded on or after 1 July 2019, when Article 3c entered into force (Article 42a). For an older contract, your termination rights follow from the agreement and the general terms. Our article on district heating and the Warmtewet discusses recent case law on this point.

Where can you complain about your heat supplier?

First with the supplier, then with an independent disputes committee under Article 3b of the Heat Act. The procedure there must be quick, transparent, simple and inexpensive, and you keep the right to go to the civil court.

The ACM supervises the market in the public interest. It can give a supplier a binding instruction, impose an order subject to a penalty or impose a fine, and a supply licence can be revoked. The ACM does not award individual compensation: that comes from the supplier, the disputes committee or the court.

Does your supplier need a licence?

Usually yes. Article 9 of the Heat Act prohibits supplying heat to consumers without an ACM licence.

The ban does not apply to a supplier serving no more than 10 consumers at a time, supplying no more than 10,000 gigajoules a year, or acting as landlord or owner of the building concerned. An exempt supplier still has to respect the maximum price and the other consumer rights where the Act applies, but it is not under licence supervision.

What does the law say about getting connected?

Little. The Heat Act sets no waiting time for a new connection; the timetable follows from your contract with the heat company. Under Article 6 the one-off connection contribution may not exceed the amount set by the ACM.

The heat company first assesses whether a connection is technically and economically feasible. A service pipe is then laid from the main network, and a delivery set with a heat exchanger replaces the boiler; existing radiators can usually stay. If you switch fully to heat, the gas connection is usually removed, and restoring it later is costly. If your business depends on a delivery date, agree a contractual penalty or a right to terminate in the quotation.

What changes under the Collective Heat Act?

The Collective Heat Act (Wcw) will replace the Heat Act, but most of it is not yet in force. It was adopted by the Senate in December 2025 and published as Stb. 2026, 10 on 22 January 2026; a commencement decree (Stb. 2026, 31) brought only a limited part into force on 14 February 2026.

The main chapters commence by royal decree, and no date has been set. Until then, your rights under existing delivery agreements follow from the Heat Act. Three changes matter most for users and building owners:

• Municipalities will designate heat areas and appoint one heat company for each area.
• Heat companies will in principle need a public majority interest, with transitional rules for existing private companies.
• The tariff will move away from the gas reference towards the actual, efficient costs of the heat company plus a reasonable return, introduced in phases.

Check which regime applies when your dispute arises; do not assume the Wcw already governs it.

What should you check as a heat user?

Start with your connection and then go through the bill line by line.

• Is your individual connection 100 kW or less, so that the Heat Act protects you?
• Do you get heat from a licensed supplier, or from your landlord or VvE (Article 1a)?
• Does every part of the bill stay below the ACM maximum for that year?
• Did you receive compensation after an outage of 24 hours or longer, or after repeated outages within 12 months?
• Was your contract concluded on or after 1 July 2019, so that Article 3c lets you terminate?

What should you check as a supplier, landlord or VvE?

Establish first in which capacity you supply heat, because that decides which parts of the Act apply.

• Do you supply only your own tenants or members (Article 1a), or other consumers as well?
• Do you need a licence under Article 9, or does the 10-consumer or 10,000-gigajoule exemption apply?
• Do your metering, cost allocation and billing meet Articles 8, 8a and 8b?
• Do you pay compensation automatically after a serious outage under Article 3a?
• Does your arrears procedure follow Articles 5 and 6 of the Heat Regulation?

What can we do for you with your heat supply?

Anyị ndị ọkaiwu ike advise consumers, businesses, landlords and owners’ associations on heat supply, and also handle the tenancy side when heat comes through a landlord.

• We check your bills against the ACM maximum price for each year and calculate what can be reclaimed.
• We claim outage compensation under Article 3a and any further damages.
• We challenge a threatened disconnection and check whether the Heat Regulation steps were followed.
• We review your delivery agreement and general terms, including termination under Article 3c.
• We prepare your case for the disputes committee, the Rent Tribunal or the court.

Summary

• The Heat Act protects consumers and businesses with a heat connection of up to 100 kW.
• Heat from a landlord or VvE falls largely outside the Act; tenants use the Rent Tribunal for the price.
• The ACM sets a yearly maximum price; anything above it can be reclaimed.
• After a serious outage you receive fixed compensation, and real loss can be claimed on top.
• Disconnection must be prevented especially from 1 October to 1 April; most of the Wcw is not yet in force.

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