EU funding opportunities for refurbishment of social housing 2014-2020

1. EU funding opportunities for refurbishment of social housing 2014-2020 RETOS DE LA REHABILITACIÓN URBANA EN EL SIGLO XXI 20th June 2013

2. Contents • European Structural Funds 2014-2020 • - Investmentpriorities for Spain • - example of use of the Funds (past and future) • Support from the European Financial Insitutions (EIB, CEB) • The challenge of aggregating all fundingstreams • - illustrations of the potential of technical assistance

3. EU Structural Funds 2014-2020: Position of the Commission Services on the development of Partnership Agreement and programmes in SPAIN for the period 2014-2020 Main priorities for funding in Spain should be: 1. Increasing labour market participation and labour productivity, as well as improving education, training and social inclusion policies, with specific attention to youth and vulnerable groups 2. Supporting the adaptation of the productive system to higher added-value activities by enhancing the competiveness of SMEs 3. Promoting an innovation-friendly business environment and strengthening the R&D and innovation system 4. Making a more efficient use of natural resources

4. “Making a more efficient use of natural resources”  Energyefficiency • The implementation of energy efficiency measures in public buildings, in SMEs and in dwellings (including in agriculture and the agro-food sector) should be a priority. • This can apply mainly to the existing buildings − but also to new constructions – through the corresponding renovation plans. • Innovative financing schemes – such as Energy Performance Contracting −, mostly in public buildings and enterprises, should be actively promoted. • To be effective, the EU funding intensity should reflect the economic conditions of target groups and expected energy savings (ambition of the investment in terms of energy saved/renewable energy generated). • Furthermore, attention should be given to the efficiency of district heating/cooling networks and industrial waste heat recovery.

5. Renewable energies • Renewables use should also be promoted in public buildings, SMEs and dwellings, particularly by allowing auto-consumption. • The development and deployment of smart grids should be fostered, with the corresponding provision of training in order to meet the skill development needs in this area.

6. How can Spain and its regions meet those priorities? • Thematic concentration : at least 20% of the total ERDF resources at national level should be allocated to one or more low carbon priorities (draft ERDF regulation article 4): • Renewable energies • Energy efficiency in entreprises • Energy efficiency in housing • Smart distribution grids • Sustainable urban mobility • If Spain had the same amount of ERDF for 2014-2020 as for 2007-2013 (24bio€), this would mean : 4,8 bio€ for low carbon investments • Althouth Spain will get less money from the EU cohesion policy (fewer poor regions as compared to EU average), several bio€ will be available for low carbon investments

7. Differentapproaches to use EU funds: • Classicalgrant-basedapproach: Ex: The Energy Regeneration of Social Housing project in Corso Taranto (Turin) is framed within the priority axe II ‘Sustainability and Energy Efficiency’ of the Piedmont Region ERDF OP 2007-13 The project concerns ca. 650 dwellings with the following interventions: - Connection of the heating system of the flats to the centralised heating system.- Replacement of the windows in order to improve thermal and sound insulation.- Roof insulations against heat rises.- Renovation of the fronts of the buildings. The total amount of funding allocated to this project is €7,576,288.50 of which €5,156,085.23 is ERDF and €2,420,203.27 is ATC.

8. Set up a regional fund made of ERDF contributions, regional public support (regional or national public banks), private investors… propose loans or guarantees for social housing organisations to make investments in Energy efficiency and Renewable Energy; support of the development of Energy performance contracting; grants should also be available in particular for energy auditing, project preparation… (for instance London Green Fund) • Set up a wider integrated strategy for territorial development using the new instrument « Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) A voluntary tool for Member StatesMust be based on an integrated territorial strategy Can cover any sub-national territory as well as multiple categories of regionsDraws on funding from at least two priority axesMono –fund or multi-fund [complementary participation of EAFRD and EMFF] Can include any form of support

9. Priority axis 1 (ERDF): strengthening ICT applications for e-government, e-learning, e-inclusion and ehealth EUR 10 million Priority axis 2 (ERDF): enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs EUR 50 million Priority axis 3 (ERDF): supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors EUR 50 million ITI FOR THE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF CITY X EUR 190 million (ERDF+ESF) Priority axis 4 (ERDF): action to improve the urban environment, including regeneration of brown- field sites and reduction of air pollution EUR 40 million Priority axis 5 (ESF):Reducing early school-leaving and promoting equal access to goodquality early-childhood, primary and secondary education EUR 20 million Priority axis 6 (ERDF): investing in education, skills and lifelong learning by developing education andtraining infrastructure EUR 20 million

10. Bilateral agreements with European financial institutions • The EuropeanInvestment Bank Ex: Urban regeneration schemes under the Flanders social housing programme in various locations in the region (Belgium).Investment programme 2013-2015. The project will comprise small to medium-sized retrofitting and newly built social housing investments in the years 2013-2015 undertaken by social housing providers throughout the region. It is expected that the investments to be funded will concern in particular energy-efficiency measures. EIB finance : EUR 200 million The social housing to be financed under the project will have to comply with high environmental standards and will significantly contribute to improving the urban environment.

11. The Council of Europe Development Bank (www.coebank.org) The CEB can grant loans (but not subsidies) to its 40 Member States(Including Spain) to finance social projects Potential borrowers : Governments, local or regional authorities as well as public or private financial institutions Although the borrowers are generally the beneficiaries of the financings, they can also act as project promoters on behalf of one or several final beneficiaries Ex: Green Social Homeownership in Wallonia (Belgium) 130mio€ loan to Fonds Wallon du Logement thatprovidesloans for acquisition of homes and ecorenovation for low-incomefamilies

12. Aggregating the different funding streams • The importance of technical and projectdevelopment assistance Ex: ELENA facility by the EuropeanInvesment Bank and the European Commission : providing non-repayablegrant to help local authoritiesprepare a project of renovation or new construction with high environment performance. Most recentexample : in May 2013 the Brussels regional social housing organisation (public body) got a 1.3 mio€ grant to prepare a 120mio€ renovation, new construction programme (nZEB), and co-generation [« VAMOS » (« Vert. une Aide à la Maîtrise de l’Ouvrage Social »)] • the importance of aggregating the needs of smallhousing organisations to getaccess to finance; role of intermediary bodiesex: the Housing Finance Corporation in UK

13. Julien Dijol, Policy Coordinator julien.dijol@housingeurope.eu SF EnergyInvest: http://sf-energyinvest.eu/ SHELTER http://www.shelterproject-iee.eu/ CASH: http://urbact.eu/fr/projects/low-carbon-urban-environments/cash/homepage/