1. Do EPCs need to be provided on sales and lettings and if so, are there any statutory minimum requirements?

Pursuant to Dutch law, EPC's are mandatory for the sale, lettings, and handover of residential and utility buildings (such as offices, schools, or hospitals) and must be provided to all buyers or lessees.

It is important to note that there are several exceptions outlined in Dutch law to this energy label obligation; for example, these exemptions apply to protected monumental buildings, religious structures, or factory halls.

2. Is there any legislation requiring new or existing buildings to satisfy ESG requirements?

The Structures (Living Environment) Decree sets out requirements regarding ESG-related aspects of buildings such as energy efficiency  and certification of buildings. 
Furthermore, any local (municipal) public authority may set specific additional rules in their environmental plans regarding new construction projects to comply with ESG- regulations.
Energy label C offices
All pre-existing office buildings are obligated to have an energy label C or higher. Pursuant to the Structures (Living Environment) Decree, effective from 1 January 2024, non-compliance with the energy label C obligation carries the risk of enforcement actions by the competent authorities. It is important to note that there are several exceptions outlined in the Structures (Living Environment) Decree to the energy label C obligation (e.g. monumental buildings and storage space).
Energy saving
The Environment and Planning Act requires business in the Netherlands that use 50,000 kWh of electricity or 25,000 cbm of natural gas (or an equivalent) or more per year, to take energy saving measures with a payback period of five years or less.
When the Energy Saving Obligation applies, it is obligatory to digitally report the executed energy saving measures to your competent authority every 4 years. 
BENG
As of 1 January 2021, all permit applications for new construction projects must meet the requirements for Nearly Energy Neutral Buildings (Dutch abbreviation: BENG). This applies to both residential and non-residential buildings. Requirements are set for the maximum energy demand, fossil energy use and renewable energy generation of buildings. This means that for new buildings not only proper insulation of the building and energy-efficient installations must be taken into account. But also the use of renewable energy. 

3. How widespread are green lease provisions? Are they regulated or market driven? What areas do green leases commonly cover? Do they apply to both residential and commercial leases?

There are currently no legal requirements to include green lease provisions to lease agreements. Green leases are market driven. There is an increasing demand from the market to include green clauses in commercial leases, particularly in the office and logistics sectors. The inclusion of green clauses is not common for residential leases.
Green lease clauses in commercial leases generally include obligations for the tenant and the landlord to cooperate in relation to energy efficiency, consumption and data sharing, obtaining or maintaining the building's green certificate and rentalisation of service charge savings made by the landlord. In general, these are soft, best-efforts obligations.

4. What do institutional investors and banks/other financing institutions require in terms of the green lease drafting? Is there any market standard approach to green lease drafting? Do you report on the lack of any green lease provisions in your due diligence reports on an acquisition or refinancing?

In the Netherlands, institutional investors and financing institutions are increasingly interested in green lease provisions as part of their environmental and sustainability criteria. However, there are no market practice standards for green lease drafting yet. Due to the absence of a singular market standard for green lease drafting and as each lender sets its own targets and reporting requirements, the approach varies depending on the specific lender involved. In general, lenders prefer developing strong relationships with their customers to meet sustainability targets, rather than solely relying on the ESG provisions in the finance and/or lease documentation. Nevertheless, green provisions can be a factor for lenders to determine a borrower’s ESG commitment. Whether we report the absence of green lease provisions in due diligence reports depends on the context of the transaction.

5. How are green lease provisions enforced?

Green lease provisions tend to be soft obligations, focusing on cooperation between the parties and obligations to be fulfilled by the parties on a best efforts basis. From a legal perspective, penalties or even termination rights could be included as sanctions for non-compliance with green lease provisions, but such an approach is not (yet) common in the market. Penalties or termination rights may be seen in the case of built-to-suit projects where the tenant is involved in the development of the building and requires for the building to have a certain level of green certification.

6. How widespread is the certification of buildings (e.g. LEED, BREEAM, NABERS, WELL etc.)? Are they regulated or market driven? How is this documented between the Landlord and Tenant?

There are no legal requirements for a building to have LEED, BREEAM, WELL or similar green certificates. For certain types of assets (offices, logistics, etc.) there is however a strong market demand for such green certificates.  Especially for new buildings, these certificates are common in the market. Green certificates are generally obtained for the design or construction stage, but also for the in-use phase of the building.
When obtaining (a) green certificate(s) is a demand from the tenant, the lease agreement will typically require the landlord to obtain and/or maintain such certification during the term of the lease and will require that any fit-out work/operation carried out by the tenant does not jeopardise the certification.

7. Are there any additional regulatory requirements that need to be met or contractual provisions that need to be considered regarding the installation of alternative energy supply systems (e.g. rooftop photovoltaic systems)?

Permits: In most cases, no permit is required for the installation of solar panels (or solar thermal collectors) on roofs. No permit is required if the following requirements are met:

  1. concerning the installation on pitched roofs: (i) the installation is placed within the surface of the roof, and (ii) the installation is installed in or directly on the surface of the roof, and (iii) the slope angle of the installation is equal to the slope angle of the roof,
  2. concerning the installation on flat roofs: the distance to the sides of the roof is at least equal to collector or panel height, and
  3. if the collector or panel does not form a single unit with the installation for storing the water or converting the generated electricity, then the installation (for storing water or converting electricity) must be located on the inside of the building. 

If these requirements are not met, the municipality's zoning plan must be reviewed whether the installation of solar panels or collectors are allowed. In some cases, an environmental permit will have to be requested from the municipality.

Obligations to install alternative energy supply systems: There are several regulations that promote or even obligate the installation of alternative energy supply systems, including but not limited to the following examples. Under the Building Decree, if a building undergoes a major renovation, a minimum amount of renewable energy (e.g. solar panels, a heat pump, or a connection to a heat network) must be installed. Also, for activities and buildings with an annual energy consumption of 50,000 kWh of electricity, or 25,000 m3 of gas, all energy-saving, or CO2 emission-reducing measures with a payback period of five years or less must be implemented. Under the Buildings Decree, from 1 January 2023 it is compulsory for offices to have at least energy label C, pursuant to which an office may consume a maximum of 225 kWh per m2 of fossil energy (sustainable installations (as well as insulation) can play a significant role in obtaining the energy label). Within some municipalities, obtaining a sustainability certification (e.g. BREEAM or LEED certification), which in return requires the placement of sustainable installations, may be part of the requirements to obtain an environmental permit. In addition, the government intends to introduce legislation that will allow municipalities to require the installation of solar panels on commercial buildings larger than 250m2.

Feeding into the grid: Small consumers (i.e. parties with an electricity connection smaller than 3x80A) who generate more electricity than they use (for example by means of rooftop solar PV systems) may feed this electricity into the grid, in return they will receive a compensation from the electricity supplier. Feed-in requires the small consumer to register its electricity generating installation with its electricity supplier and grid operator. For large scale users (i.e. parties with an electricity connection larger than 3x80A), several obligations apply if one wants to feed into the grid, including but not limited to, entering into an electricity connection and transport agreement with the grid operator, contracting transport capacity to feed-into the grid, and appointing a balance responsible party. 

8. Are there any regulations relating to soil artificialisation or other biodiversity concerns which impact on new builds and/or refurbishments? How are they enforced?

Soil
The Environment and Planning Act contains various rules and duty-of-care provisions to prevent soil contamination. Additionally, the Environmental Activities Decree contains specific duty of care provisions. In case soil contamination does occur, in principle the polluter must remove it. Furthermore, the (municipal) environmental plan can set conditions regarding soil quality. This can mean that a specific building or use is only allowed if the soil quality is improved. In case soil contamination is found by chance that was previously unknown, the owner or leaseholder may be obliged to take measures in case the contamination causes a risk (to human health or nature). This is particularly the case if it is historical soil pollution and/or if the polluter is not known. 
Enforcement
General duty of care provisions are only enforceable under administrative law. Specific provisions (as set out in the Environmental Activities Decree and in environmental plans) are enforceable under both administrative and criminal law.
Biodiversity
The Netherlands faces a nitrogen issue. Exhaust emissions due to e.g. traffic can lead to nitrogen deposition on nature reserves, which is often not allowed without a (difficult to obtain) permit. It is therefore common having a nitrogen calculation made for every new construction project, refurbishment and for existing buildings that involve (much) traffic. On the basis of a so called AERIUS calculation, it can be determined whether a project and its expected traffic movements will have an impact on protected nature or not. If so, a permit is mostly required, as many Dutch nature conservation areas are overburdened with nitrogen. 
In the Netherlands, before the construction of a new building or renovations can commence, it must be determined (through an ecological expert investigation) whether the activities will be harmful to existing protected species on the project site or in the building. If there are harmful effects on protected animals or plants, then an environmental permit for flora and fauna activities must be applied for. If a project is carried out without the required permit(s), the competent authority can take enforcement measures.