Over half of privately owned homes in the Netherlands do not yet have an energy label and only have a few more weeks to get a cheap one, the AD reported on Thursday.

From January 1, home owners can only get an energy label by employing an authorised certification company to visit, and that will cost around €200, the AD said.

At the moment, online labels are available via central government, which cost around €10 and which are valid for 10 years, the paper said. Energy labels are required by law if people want to sell their home.

The paper bases its claim on a survey of 4,000 people by Multiscope market research, which found most owners without a label don’t have one because they are not intending to sell.

Home owners lobby group Eigenhuis has been campaigning since the summer to get its members to take out a cheaper version. The new requirement is only forcing people to spend money and offers no added value to buyers, the association said.