An important new intervention to increase the supply of available housing is being attempted by the government through the new “Renovate” programme which is expected to be unveiled immediately and launched in June.
The aim of the new scheme, which will subsidise wider housing renovation work rather than just energy efficiency upgrades, is to open up and put on the market for rent or sale thousands of homes that currently remain closed. The new programme is part of the logic of increasing the supply of housing, as research has shown that it is the most effective way to address the severe housing problem facing Greece and most other European countries. Increasing subsidies mitigates costs, but boosts demand and intensifies the pressure to raise prices in the housing market
The “keys” to “Renovate”
The new “Renovate” is expected to have a total budget of €500 million and will provide for significantly increased expenditure coverage compared to previous programmes, which will increase in line with the number of children in the family. It will also provide for increased income thresholds for membership. Thus, the subsidy may reach up to 90%-95% of renovation costs with a basic funding of up to €36,000 per dwelling. It should be noted that in the previous cycle of the renovation programme, the eligible costs amounted to EUR 10,000. The amount of funding will be increased by EUR 5,000 for each child which means that for a family with two children the amount will be EUR 46,000. The programme is planned to cover old houses up to 120 m2 . The amount of funding will be calculated with a maximum of 300 euros per square metre.
The two phases of the project
There will be two implementation phases of the project. The first phase, scheduled to begin in June, will conduct screening to select properties that qualify for inclusion in the program. In the second phase, estimated to start in September, applications for membership will be submitted by property owners who have passed the first phase.
According to reports, during the first phase of the program, priority will be given to assessing the eligibility of closed homes and then the cases of properties that are already occupied will be considered.
In this programme, the focus of the coverage will be more on renovation costs and less on those related to energy upgrades as the main objective is to directly boost the supply of suitable housing on the market. It is estimated that 80% of the interventions will be for renovations and 20% for energy upgrades
