1. The starting point
The result is measured against the initial situation, so the initial situation must be known first, and in three separate dimensions. Without a baseline there is nothing to measure against.
| What to know | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| The current energy class as a number | how large the problem is |
| Whether register data match reality | whether the input data for the calculation hold |
| Technical condition | where exactly the problem lies |
The class says how large the problem is, and a survey says where it is. Two buildings in the same class letter may be very different distances from the target, which is why one must work with the number rather than the letter.
2. The logic of the support
The requirement is a performance threshold rather than a list of works, and it separates two routes from the moment of application. The two routes separate before design begins.
Full reconstruction requires at least class C, partial reconstruction at least a one-class gain. The support rate meanwhile depends not on the condition of the building but on its location and on the value of property in the area, which makes the measure an instrument of regional balance as well as of energy policy.
Funding rounds open and close cyclically, and the position must be checked with the body granting the support before every decision, since a closed round changes the whole programme. Timing shapes the whole preparation.
3. Full or partial
Two routes lead to different results, and moving from one to the other is not easy later. The choice has to be made deliberately.
Partial reconstruction raises the baseline class, which makes a later full reconstruction harder: whoever replaces the windows today makes tomorrow's full reconstruction harder, since less room for improvement remains for the next step. Every earlier work shifts the baseline.
The partial route therefore makes sense where it is a final choice rather than a stage on the way to a full one. The consequence of that decision lasts for years, which is why it deserves a separate discussion before design begins.
4. The apartment association's procedure
Construction lasts months, the road leading to it usually lasts longer, and its length is set by the decision-making process. Deciding and designing take time.
A decision on renovation and on borrowing requires a qualified majority, measured against all the votes rather than those present, so absentees are not neutral but count against. An apartment owner meanwhile does not vote on the total cost but on their own monthly payment, and that is how the figure must be put to them.
5. Cost and programme
The cost of new construction can be estimated from the drawings; the cost of a renovation depends on what is inside the wall, and nobody knows that before it is opened. Part of the cost emerges only as work proceeds.
Unforeseen circumstances and temporary works are the two great unknowns of renovation. In an occupied building a third is added, namely access: if one apartment is not accessible at the agreed time, work on the whole riser stops, and a stoppage costs money regardless of whose doing it was.
6. Five rules to remember
Check the energy performance certificate calculations in the building register before the round, since the ranking is set on the basis of energy use and wrong input data cost places. Errors have to be corrected early.
Work with numbers rather than class letters, because two buildings in the same class may be very different distances from the target. The class letter hides the difference.
Do not begin works before the funding decision, because a cost incurred before eligibility starts may not be reimbursable. The rule is stated directly in the conditions.
Present the cost per apartment per month, not only as a total, because that is what is actually voted on. A total is too abstract to decide on.
Compare renovation with carrying out the unavoidable works, not with doing nothing, because the roof and the pipework need attention with or without support. The roof has to be replaced in any case.
Why this guide states no figures
A deliberate choice, of the same kind as in the budgeting guide, and the reason here is stronger than there. This guide concentrates on the procedure.
Support rates, thresholds and round conditions have changed over time and differed between rounds. Available sources give differing values for the same system, which points to conditions having been adjusted.
A wrong figure is directly harmful here, because the whole funding plan and the size of the own contribution depend on it. The applicable values must be taken from the regulation in force and from the conditions of the open round.
What this guide does not cover
Energy performance requirements and the methodology of the energy performance certificate are the subject of a separate guide, as are building permits, construction cost, budgeting and the public procurement regime. The present guide covers the route to renovation.
Summary
Support does not fund the works carried out but the measured result, so where the class does not improve no support is granted even for well-executed work. Full reconstruction requires at least class C and partial reconstruction at least a one-class gain, and the rate depends on location and on the value of property in the area rather than on the condition of the building.
Partial reconstruction raises the baseline class and makes a later full reconstruction harder, which is why it makes sense only as a final choice. In an apartment association the decision requires a qualified majority of all the votes, and an apartment owner votes on their monthly payment rather than on the total cost.
This guide offers professional orientation as at the date of verification. It replaces neither the support regulation nor the assessment of a competent specialist.