Renting an office is about square metres, location, price and, more and more often, the energy label. But what do you get digitally? Fibre, cabling, WiFi, a secure network: these often only come up after the lease has been signed. RE-SEARCH wants to change that.
According to the Dutch property news site PropertyNL, the online property platform RE-SEARCH is the first property platform to join the IT-Label. The aim: structural attention for the digital delivery level of commercial real estate.
Who is RE-SEARCH?
RE-SEARCH is a platform for commercial real estate. You can use it to find office, industrial and retail space to rent or buy in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. The platform combines search technology with personal guidance, from the first search to the handover of the keys.
The problem: digital remains unclear
Commercial property is measured on more and more points, such as the energy label, BREEAM and NEN and ISO standards. What a tenant gets digitally often remains vague. Commercial director Colin Westerneng of RE-SEARCH put it like this in PropertyNL (translated from Dutch):
"In real estate we can tell you to the decimal point how many square metres someone is renting. But when it comes to what a tenant gets digitally, everyone suddenly starts looking at each other."
The result: choices about internet, cabling, WiFi, cybersecurity and who arranges what are only made after signing. That costs time, money and sometimes a lot of frustration.
What the IT-Label does about it
The IT-Label shows what is digitally in place in a building, on a scale from IT1+ to IT5. It translates technology into plain language: what is in place, what is delivered and what does the tenant arrange themselves?
The label does not prescribe what is good or bad. A shell office where the tenant fits out their own IT can work perfectly well. So can a business centre where everything is already arranged. As long as it is clear in advance.
The IT-Label is managed by IT Label B.V.
The link with sustainability
This news is especially interesting because of the sustainability side. A smart building uses less energy. Climate and lighting that adapt to occupancy, smart meters per floor, EV chargers that charge smartly: all of this runs over the network. Without a good digital foundation, those savings stay out of reach.
Tech director Miquel van Dongen of RE-SEARCH points in PropertyNL to a development that raises the bar (translated from Dutch):
"We are making buildings smarter and smarter, but in the end a business owner simply wants to know: can my organisation function well here digitally?"
The IT-Label answers that question. And it complements the energy label: the energy label tells you how efficient a building is, the IT-Label tells you whether it is digitally ready to become even more efficient.
What it means for tenants
Looking for new premises? Soon you will be able to compare buildings not only on price, location and energy label, but also on digital quality. You know in advance which investments are yours to make, and you can take that into the negotiation. Read more on our page for tenants.
Office and industrial space in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam
Looking for space in one of the major Dutch cities? RE-SEARCH shows the current listings per city:
- Amsterdam: office space for rent in Amsterdam, industrial space for rent in Amsterdam and retail space for rent in Amsterdam
- Utrecht: office space for rent in Utrecht, industrial space for rent in Utrecht and retail space for rent in Utrecht
- Rotterdam: office space for rent in Rotterdam, industrial space for rent in Rotterdam and retail space for rent in Rotterdam
What it means for owners
For owners this is an opportunity. A building with a clear digital delivery level stands out in the market. It prevents disputes during negotiations and after handover. And it shows that the building is ready for smart energy management.
Also read our blog After grid congestion comes data congestion.
Get started
Want to know how your building is doing?
- Take the free sustainability scan for a first indication.
- Have a pre-inspection determine which IT-Label your building is likely to achieve, and which smart steps deliver the most.
- Make it official with an IT-Label audit.
Source: PropertyNL, 2 September 2026 (in Dutch).
