1. Home
  2. Saving energy
  3. Saving energy in the home and in the workplace
  4. Rehabilitation to save

Rehabilitation to save

Barcelona is a dense, compact city and only has urban land available (there is no developable land where it can grow). This makes it difficult for new houses or flats to be built in it and has caused its housing stock to age: the average age of its buildings are 65 years old and only 7% were constructed after 1980.

Bearing this reality in mind, the City Council has been implementing housing renovation policies for years. In the Climate Emergency Declaration, the objective of rehabilitating 10,000 properties a year is set out with subsidies and credits destined for energy rehabilitation.  

Beyond the environmental benefits, living in a property with decent energy conditions provides positive health effects and comfort for city residents.

INFORMATION REGARDING GRANTS AND SUBSIDIES

Barcelona City Council provides assistance on an annual basis for the rehabilitation of properties aimed at the generation and saving of energy.

Financial help for energy renovation work on building exteriors

  • Generating renewable energy using thermal solar panels (for producing hot water for human consumption) or photovoltaic panels (for generating electricity)
    • Subsidies of up to 50% of costs, with a maximum of €3,500 per dwelling or €60,000 per building
  • Renovation measures that involve a comprehensive energy improvement initiative
    • Installing insulation for the entire building envelope.
    • Subsidies of up to 40% of the costs, up to a maximum of €30,000 for buildings with fewer than 20 dwellings, €40,000 for buildings with between 21 and 40 dwellings and €50,000 for buildings with over 41 dwellings.
       
  • Partial energy-saving renovation measures
    • Work on façades, roofs and terraces, party walls and light wells.
    • Maximum subsidies for 25% of the costs up to a maximum of €30,000 for buildings with fewer than 20 dwellings, €40,000 for buildings with between 21 and 40 dwellings, and €50,000 for buildings with over 41 dwellings.

Who can apply for energy renovation subsidies?

  • Renovation of the communal part of buildings:
    • ​The president of the community of owners
    • The administrator of the building
    • The owner of the building
    • Professionals or industrialists from the energy sector

What buildings and homes can benefit from this?

  • The financial aid is intended for dwellings classified as permanent habitual residences and for apartment buildings where 70% of the building's surface area – excluding the ground floor – is allocated for habitual dwellings.
  • If the above-mentioned percentage is not reached, only flats used as habitual, permanent residences will qualify for subsidies, and they can apply for the proportional part of the subsidy according to surface area.
  • If the dwellings are empty, the financial help will only be awarded where the owner makes a commitment to include the property in the Barcelona Social Housing Pool, once it has been renovated.

These subsidies are not available for dwellings used as tourist flats or multi-unit properties.

How can you apply for this financial aid?

By completing the application form (you must have the agreement of the building's community of owners or the owner of the rented accommodation).

By providing the following documents:

  • Budget
  • ITE (Technical Inspection of Buildings certificate)
  • Energy certificate
  • Accessibility certificate
  • Agreement from the building's community of owners

What is the time period for the subsidy applications?

Find out about the grants and subsidies you can apply for according to your energy-renovation or generation-system installation project, and your location in the city. At Energy Assessment Points there are specialist staff at your disposal who will answer any questions you may have and advise you on the application process for grants and subsidies for energy renovation or installing systems for generating your own energy.

Here you will find all the information on grants and subsidies for renovations from the Barcelona Housing Consortium: GRANTS AND SUBSIDIES

Grants and subsidies apply to the entire city. Even so, there are specific urban areas and neighbourhoods which require special attention, owing to their features, and which therefore have specific or higher grants and subsidies.

Click here to view the grants and subsidies available according to the location of your building or flat: ARRANGE A CONSULTATION

Download the 2020 Subsidy-Application Campaign

Other resources on energy rehabilitation