Wilfred Schepers (project manager) and René Stoffers (project supervisor) work every day with many other colleagues at Lefier to provide a good and affordable home for its tenants. With a team of sixteen colleagues, they are responsible for planned maintenance. This includes installing solar panels. Lefier and Ecorus have been working together since 2020 and have already helped many tenants save money on their energy bills. “It is rewarding work for a target group that desperately needs it,” says Wilfred.
Lefier has more than 30,000 homes in Groningen and Drenthe, spread over two provinces and five different municipalities. In an operating area with one of the highest energy poverty rates in the Netherlands, Lefier has an important social role in the fight against energy poverty.
Lefier helps its tenants in the fight against energy poverty in various ways. One of these is installing solar panels on rental properties. The tenant can decide for himself whether he or she participates. We see that there is a lot of interest in solar panels. “We currently have a participation rate of about eighty percent,” says Wilfred.
In addition to solar panels, Lefier has four housing coaches available where tenants can go for help and advice. Tenants can register for this themselves. A residential coach then comes to the tenant’s home to see how a tenant can save money on his or her energy bill. “And if a home is not yet equipped with double glazing and cannot be made more sustainable in the short term, we will install double glazing,” says René.
In 2023, we will install solar panels on three thousand Lefier rental properties. In this way, tenants contribute to a better environment and save money on their energy bills. And the latter is the most important reason for tenants to register.
This also applies to the neighborhood where we met today. This neighborhood is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the Netherlands. The homes have recently been renovated and tenants now have the opportunity to have solar panels installed. The majority do not hesitate for a moment and are happy with Lefier’s offer.
In the coming years, Lefier will be fully committed to making homes more sustainable. By 2028, the corporation no longer wants to rent out homes with energy label D or worse. In addition, in the field of sustainability, Lefier is investigating the installation of batteries and the possibility of collectively purchasing solar energy through a solar park.
When asked what tip Wilfred and René have for other housing associations, Wilfred answers: “Make sure you have a team with intrinsic motivation. It is not always easy and that is why it is extremely important to achieve your goals with a motivated team.”
