With higher subsidies for the beneficiaries, in order to cover the costs caused by the increase in the prices of raw materials and metals due to the international crisis, the new Save program is announced, which subsidizes the energy upgrade of houses with direct payments and interest-free loans. Energy-saving actions in buildings are a cornerstone of the energy policy of both the government and the European Union, as reducing electricity consumption helps achieve the goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and tackling climate change. In this context, after the interventions in the first house, the announcement of programs for the energy upgrade of business buildings and public buildings will follow. The Save 2021 program, with a budget of € 632 million, is projected to contribute to energy savings of at least 213ktoe per year and energy renovation to at least 105,000 homes by 2025. It also includes separate incentives to support poor and vulnerable households in the form of increased percentage of grants and a separate budget of EUR 100 million.
According to the Implementation Guide, the main features of the program are as follows: There are two types of applications: Application for an Individual Apartment or Detached House and an application for an Apartment Building (including applications for apartments as part of an application for an apartment building). For applications for individual apartments, detached houses and apartments as part of an application for an Apartment Building, the maximum grant rate per income category is defined as follows:
- Individual income up to 5,000 euros and family income up to 10,000 euros: the subsidy rate in cases of home ownership is 75% and in cases of rent or free concession is 40%.
- Individual income 5,000 to 10,000 euros and family 10,000 to 20,000 euros: the subsidy rate in cases of home ownership is 70% and in cases of rent or free concession is 40%.
- Individual income 10,000 to 20,000 euros and family income 20,000 to 30,000 euros: the subsidy rate in cases of home ownership is 55% and in cases of rent or free concession is 40%.
- Individual income 20,000 to 30,000 euros and family 30,000 to 40,000 euros: the subsidy rate in cases of home ownership is 45% and in cases of rent or free concession is 40%.
- Individual income 30,000 to 50,000 euros and family 40,000 to 60,000 euros: the subsidy rate in cases of home ownership is 40% and in cases of rent or free concession is 40%.
For Apartment Building applications, when the total of the millimeters of the Apartment Building participates, an additional grant (bonus) + 10% is provided in the provided subsidy percentage of each participating apartment.
The grant percentage concerns the eligible intervention budget. For the remaining percentage up to 100% of the eligible intervention budget, there is the possibility of granting a loan with an interest rate subsidy, based on a relevant request of the Beneficiary.
A residence, in order to be considered eligible, must meet the following general conditions: It exists legally. It has not been deemed demolishable. Used as the main residence. It has been classified based on the First Energy Efficiency Certificate (A ‘PEA) in a category lower than or equal to C. It is pointed out that it is necessary in the income tax return of the tenant (E1), if there is a lease / free concession of the main residence and in the detailed statement for the leases of real estate (E2), as well as in the declaration of real estate data (E9) to be fully and correctly included the electricity supply number of the property.
The proposal for energy upgrade, submitted with the application, should cover the minimum energy target of the application, as follows: For applications of individual apartments and houses, upgrade by three energy categories, in relation to the classification in the A ‘PEA. For apartment building applications, upgrade by three (3) energy categories, in relation to the classification in the A ‘PEA. The start date for eligibility of expenditures is set at 01/02/2020. Projects are not eligible which, based on the submitted expenditure documents, have been completed in terms of the physical object or have been fully executed by the date of submission of the application. Only the interventions that are completed after the issuance of the A ‘PEA can be considered eligible for the Program and in any case the expenses must have been made from 01/02/2020 onwards. It is clarified that, within the requirements of the Program, PEA are accepted, which have been issued after 27.11.2017 and before 01/02/2020, as well as studies and Approvals of Small Scale Construction Works that have been issued before 01/02/2020, however, their expenditure is not eligible by the Program.
The interventions, submitted with the application for inclusion in the Program, arise based on the recommendations of the Energy Inspector and relate exclusively to the following categories of eligible interventions:
- Frame replacement
- Installation / upgrade of thermal insulation
- Heating / cooling system upgrade
- ZNX system using Renewable Energy Sources (RES)
- Other Saving Interventions (smart home, lighting upgrade).
After the submission of the applications and only for the initially eligible applications, a deadline of 60 days will be given for the submission of Electronic Building Identity / Independent Divided Property. Approved applications for which the applicant has chosen to join the Loan Program receive a deadline of 120 days to start and complete the lending process. Within the above deadline, it must be submitted to a cooperating bank and a loan application approved. If the above period elapses without action, the applicant has the option to proceed with Equity.
In case of a loan, the signing of the loan agreement is completed up to 30 days from the issuance of the project Inclusion decision. The deadlines for the implementation of the project are as follows: Within 120 days from the Submission of the application, at least 30% of the eligible Budget must have been completed. Within 365 days from the Submission of the application, the entire physical and financial object must have been completed.
Funding applications are submitted only electronically and compulsorily through the information system of the official website of the Program. At the stage of submitting the application, it is not required to present a physical file with supporting documents. Upon completion of the application, automated electronic eligibility checks are performed, the required supporting documents are entered, the energy data of the A ‘PEA are received, the proposal is submitted with the costs of interventions and other expenses, and the initial financial statement is submitted.
During the application period, the right to cancel and resubmit an application is given. Cancellation of an application is not allowed after the end of the application period. By submitting the application to the Program, a unique protocol number is received and the total Score of the application is automatically calculated, based on the evaluation criteria of the Program. A necessary condition for the submission of the application is the completion of all its mandatory fields. It is pointed out that in case of transfer of the property, the right to an application submitted to the Program is not transferred (except in the case of forced transfer of property due to death). The process of evaluation of the applications submitted to the Program is done on the basis of benchmarking, ie evaluation of each application on the basis of predefined criteria.
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