1. The position at the date of verification
As at 12 August 2026 the position is as follows. It should be rechecked before applying.
| Round | Position |
|---|---|
| Apartment buildings, third round | opened 15 September 2025, budget 80 million euros |
| Apartment buildings, earlier rounds | opened 28.10.2024 and 14.01.2025, closed since 13.09.2025 |
| Detached houses | open 23.04.2024 to 28.02.2025, closed since then |
According to professional sources no new round for detached houses has been opened for 2026 and the body granting the support has not confirmed that one will open, and according to the same source the reason is that the usage period of the European Recovery and Resilience Facility, which funded it, is coming to an end. The position changes, so it must be checked on the pages of the body granting the support before every decision rather than in an overview.
2. How the rounds work
Four features apply to the apartment building rounds, and the third matters in practice. It concerns how the budget is divided.
A round is open for a fixed period, thirty days in the case of the third apartment building round. The budget is divided between target groups, for instance by the size of the building, heritage protection and neighbourhood-based reconstruction. Applications are not moved between budgets, since an application is processed in the round to which it was submitted. And the funding period as a whole runs from 2022 to 2027, within which the individual rounds take place.
An application submitted to the wrong budget is therefore not redirected automatically to the right one. The budget has to be checked before submission.
3. Two common misconceptions
Both are contradicted directly in the information published by the body granting the support. Common assumptions do not hold.
| Misconception | What the source says |
|---|---|
| Applying earlier makes success more likely | there is no hurry to apply, and an application submitted on the last day is equivalent to one submitted on the first |
| Applying to several budgets improves the chances | there is no point, since only the last application submitted is taken into account |
The first creates haste, which leads to incomplete applications, and the second may lose the application altogether where the last one submitted is not the one intended. The practical conclusion is short: use the whole open period to put the application in order rather than to hurry.
4. What sets the ranking
One criterion is characteristic of this measure, and it runs against the usual expectation. It gives no advantage to applying early.
According to professional sources, applications from associations whose building has higher energy use per square metre of heated area rank higher for funding. The ranking is therefore set by the building's present consumption rather than by when the application was submitted.
The logic is consistent with that of the measure as a whole, since support is most effective where there is most to save. The building in the worst condition is therefore in the strongest position for funding. The criteria may differ between rounds and must be checked in the conditions of the open round.
5. How long the timescale really is
The third round gives the order of magnitude, and that order of magnitude changes the logic of the whole preparation. Competition is stronger than assumed.
| Stage | Timing |
|---|---|
| Submission of applications | September and October 2025 |
| Funding decisions | expected from January 2026 |
| Construction procurement | arranged by the associations that received funding |
| First buildings completed | at the end of 2026 |
Roughly eighteen months therefore pass between application and completion, of which construction is only a part. Preparation must be done before the round opens, because once it is open there is no longer time to prepare a design or correct register data.
Summary and four practical rules
The third apartment building round opened on 15 September 2025 with a budget of 80 million euros, the earlier rounds closed on 13 September 2025, and the detached house round has been closed since 28 February 2025 with no new round confirmed. When an application is submitted does not affect the outcome, and applying to several budgets does not improve the chances, since only the last application submitted counts. The ranking is set by higher energy use per square metre of heated area, so the building in the worst condition is in the strongest position for funding.
Four rules: check the position of the round on the pages of the body granting the support before every decision. Prepare before the round opens, not during it. Do not hurry to apply, since the timing does not affect the ranking. Submit the application to one budget only, since the last one submitted is what counts.
This article offers professional orientation as at the date of verification. The position of the rounds must be checked with the body granting the support.