It includes, for instance, such goals as 'Sustainable cities and communities', 'Climate action' and 'Reduced inequalities.' But that is not everything. Apart from the programmes aimed at creating new housing stock for people with low and average incomes, BGK also operates the Thermal Modernisation and Refurbishment Fund (FTiR; Fund), aiming to improve existing technical conditions of buildings, increase their energy efficiency and reduce harmful emissions.
The Thermal Modernisation and Refurbishment Fund performs tasks connected with handling the State's financial support for investors implementing thermal modernisation and refurbishment projects. Funds are granted at the investors' request once they present a loan agreement entered into with the lending bank and based on an energy or refurbishment audit. The decision to grant the bonus is based on the audit's verification assessment, also after meeting other statutory requirements. The funds are disbursed once the investor has completed the project in question as partial repayment of that obligation.
Co-financing of the projects by BGK translates into significant savings in buildings' operating costs and contributes to an improvement in the quality of the existing housing stock, thus reducing the so-called housing deprivation issue. Implementation of thermal modernisation and refurbishment projects with the Fund's financial participation has for years contributed to an increase in the existing housing stock's energy efficiency. Such projects lead to significant energy savings, which brings tangible benefits in reducing CO2 emissions and significantly contributes to improving air quality by reducing the phenomenon of smog.
In 2020, the provisions of the amended Act on Support for Thermal Modernisation and Refurbishment and on the Central Record of the Emission Capacity of Buildings came into force, which has introduced several beneficial changes for investors interested in FTiR bonuses.
The standard thermomodernisation bonus accounts for 16% of the costs of the thermal- modernisation project. Still, it can be easily increased to 21% of the project's costs if the construction of a RES micro-installation in the building is an additional element. What is a new solution is also a subsidy for performance, together with thermal-modernisation works, to reinforce a large-panel building. In this case, the investor can increase the bonus by an additional 50% of the building reinforcement costs, including drawing up the technical documentation, purchasing metal anchor bolts, preparing the anchor holes, and installing the anchor bolts. Reinforcing the connections between the texture layer and the structural layer with metal anchor bolts increases the safety of prefabricated panel buildings, especially in situations where new insulation layers have been installed that place an additional load on the connectors being part of the multi-layer panel.
There have also been changes for investors implementing a refurbishment project in a multi-family building. Currently, the standard refurbishment bonus accounts for 15% of the costs of a refurbishment project. Still, for a municipality or a company wholly-owned by the municipality, it can account for 50% of these costs or 60% in the case of a historical building. It is essential to meet the statutory requirements which set out the rules based on which the higher refurbishment bonus is awarded.
Furthermore, since 19.01.2021, as a result of amendments to the Act, the refurbishment bonus can be obtained not only for a multi-family building that was in use prior to 14.08.1961 but also for a building that was in use for at least 20 years before the date on which the application for the bonus was also submitted, if the building is owned by a Social Housing Initiative (SIM) or a Social Housing Association (TBS) and was constructed thanks to a loan granted by BGK based on loan applications submitted before 30.09.2009 or thanks to debt financing.
The text was prepared by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.
The title, lead and subtitles were prepared by the TOGETAIR editorial team.