This guidebook provides evidence-based information on the nature of energy poverty in urban multi-family apartment buildings in three post-socialist regions in the Eastern part of Europe: Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the former Soviet republics, and the Balkan region. The results are primarily based on a household survey conducted in the autumn of 2021 with 1,025 respondents in the five ComAct pilot sites: Burgas in Bulgaria, Budapest in Hungary, Karposh (Skopje) and Kavadarci in North Macedonia, Odessa in Ukraine, and Kaišiadorys and Tauragė in Lithuania. The survey research is complemented by scientific literature and national and local data on the survey sites.

The guidebook consists of three main parts:

• A comprehensive picture of the survey sites and the characteristics of the surveyed population.
• Main risk factors of energy poverty in the segment of vulnerable multi-family apartment buildings and specific target groups for related policies.
• What makes owners, even poor ones, willing to contribute to a building renovation?  The concluding part of the report explores ways of involving energy-poor communities in building renovations, which is considered to be one of the most efficient and sustainable ways of tackling energy poverty in multi-family apartment buildings.

Between the takeaways, the report finds that stable building communities are the foundations of renovation activities, so states or local municipalities must act to strengthen the operation of multi-family buildings. Such efforts may include well-designed legislation for multi-family apartment buildings, establishing joint loan financial schemes, providing technical assistance for communities to improve the efficiency of management, and supporting condominiums in arrears management.