Underfloor heating in apartments and apartment blocks

What the rule says

In Wallonia and Flanders, the rule limits direct electric heating, and names electric underfloor heating. Wallonia: 2,500 W at most per home up to 150 m², then 15 W per additional m², on any fitting, appliances already in place included. Flanders: 15 W at most per m² in a renovation subject to a permit or a notification with an architect; in an extension, the cap is calculated on the extension alone. Brussels: we have not found a cap. One room remains possible; a whole home, not within these limits.

In Luxembourg, direct electric heating cannot be the main heating of a building that is new, extended or converted. Partial heating remains possible: the regulation cites the bathroom.

In the Netherlands, a heating system that is fitted or renewed must reach a performance that direct electricity does not reach. The guide published by the public agency RVO rules out electric underfloor heating as main heating; the agency’s page allows local electric appliances controlled room by room. For a room heated as a supplement, the official documents point towards local heating being allowed, without naming electric underfloor heating: to be confirmed by the municipality.

The rule, country by country, with the texts

Why it is possible on an upper floor

	Water-based underfloor heating cast in a screed	Carbon underfloor heating
Height, without the floor covering	45 to 65 mm	5 mm
Weight, without the floor covering	90 to 130 kg/m²	about 1.25 kg/m²
What has to be connected	a boiler or a heat pump, pipes, a manifold	the home’s electricity, one thermostat per room

These are the manufacturer’s figures. With wood flooring or vinyl, the height added is 13 to 20 mm: the details by floor covering are on the fitting without screed page.

What is kept

In an apartment block, raising the floor by several centimetres means altering the doors, the thresholds, sometimes the first step of the staircase. The manufacturer cites a renovated block in Baden-Württemberg where the architect was keen to keep the storey heights and the flights of stairs: the heating went under the new floor covering, without touching either the stairs or the doors.

What is also kept: the façade. There is no outdoor unit to hang on it, no flue to run out.

One home at a time

Each apartment fitted out has its own meter and thermostats. So a single one can be fitted out, or they can be done one after the other, without stopping the heating of the others.

If the building has communal heating, talk to the managing agent first. In France, co-owners contribute to the charges for shared equipment according to the co-ownership rules, and this apportionment can be changed, barring exceptions, only unanimously: fitting your own heating does not therefore, by itself, exempt you from the charges for the communal heating.

The manufacturer gives an example: a block from 1900 in Frankfurt, built of stone, with no insulation. An apartment of around a hundred square metres there was fitted out in one working day, on top of the old floor covering. Two apartments there are monitored at the meter: 22.8 and 28.4 kWh per m² per year for heating. The other readings are on the measured consumption page.

What it changes for a landlord

The work is done home by home, when an apartment falls vacant or when its floor needs redoing. Once the whole building is fitted out, according to the manufacturer:

No more boiler room. No communal boiler, no maintenance contract, no balancing of the system.
No more heating charges to apportion. Each occupant pays what their meter has recorded, and the thermostat shows them the consumption of each room.

In France, look at the energy rating before deciding. The energy certificate is not a meter reading: it is a calculation, made for standard use and expressed in primary energy. Each kilowatt-hour of electricity counts as 1.9 in it, and as 1.7 from 1 January 2027. Direct electric heating can therefore give a poorer rating than the bill would lead you to expect. If you let or sell, have the rating simulated before the work. The other limits are on the drawbacks page.

What to check first

The rule in your country. In Wallonia, Flanders, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, a text limits direct electric heating: what each country allows.
The co-ownership rules: what they say about floor coverings and noise.
The home’s consumer unit. According to the manufacturer, a more powerful supply connection is very rarely needed; in a very old block, the electrical installation sometimes has to be redone anyway. The electrician tells you before the job.
Hot water. If an individual boiler produced it, a water heater is needed.
The floor: dry, sound, flat to within 2 mm over one metre.

Are you replacing electric radiators? The page replacing electric radiators covers that case.

For one apartment or for a whole block: describe your project, or call.

Updated on 9 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Your questions on this subject.

Will the floor take the weight?

The system weighs about 1.25 kg per square metre according to the manufacturer, against 90 to 130 kg for water-based underfloor heating cast in a screed. On a timber floor, it is the floor covering that weighs, not the heating.

Is the agreement of the co-owners needed?

The heating is fitted inside the home: no outdoor unit on the façade, no flue, no heating riser. See the managing agent first all the same, for two reasons: the co-ownership rules may govern changes of floor covering, because of noise; and if the building has communal heating, fitting your own does not exempt you from its charges: in France, their apportionment changes, barring exceptions, only by unanimous decision of the co-owners.

What about noise, for the neighbour below?

The system's 4 mm insulating layer is also an underlay against footstep noise. The manufacturer's pages give no sound reduction value: if your rules require one, ask us for the insulating layer's data sheet before choosing the floor covering.

Can a single apartment in the block be fitted out?

Technically, yes: the home fitted out has its own meter and thermostats. The manufacturer cites a block from 1900, in Frankfurt, where an apartment of around a hundred square metres was fitted out in one working day. If the building has communal heating, see the managing agent first, because of the charges.

Who pays for the heating in a rented home?

In a block that is fully fitted out, the occupant, on their own electricity meter: there is no boiler room, no heat cost allocators, no statement of heating charges.