2009 – ongoing
National
Housing associations (apartment associations and building associations) and communities of apartment owners of buildings constructed before 1993; local authorities (owners of social housing)
Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications
KredEx Foundation
KredEx Revolving Fund “KredEx Fund”
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB)
Local commercial financial institutions: SwedBank and SEB
Apartment/housing associations
€72 million
Financing: KredEx Fund provides renovation loans at fixed 10-year term interest rates of between 3.5% and 4.5% (the latter interest rate was applied at the beginning), the average being approximately 4.0%, for up to 20 years. The KredEx Fund only applies 0.5% to 0.75% of the loan amount as a contract fee, which is also below commercial market terms. Grants are available through KredEx for those housing associations who wish to undertake deep retrofit or reconstruction (see below).
Funding: Projects are being funded by the beneficiaries’ own funds (at least 15%), by their financial institutions, by KredEx Fund through the intermediary banks and by different grants programmes. The revolving fund’s capital has been provided by the ERDF, the government of Estonia, the CEB and the KredEx Foundation.
A minimum own contribution of 15% is required from the beneficiaries (this can be own funds, grants or any other loan) and the maximum amount has been capped at €1.35 million per building. There is no collateral required and the loans are mostly reimbursed with the achieved energy savings. The building has to be insured during the whole term of the loan.
No specific group targeted. Nevertheless, the fund has helped almost 103,000 families to build or renovate their home and improved living conditions of more than 12,000 children living in families of modest means.
KredEx Fund supports only renovation and reconstruction projects of multiapartment buildings where at least three apartment owners want to make use of the loan possibility, preferably represented by a housing association.
• For the Renovation grant 2019:
• Reconstruction and insulation of the facade, and related works
• Reconstruction of open and closed balconies, installation of glass or replacement of balconies, and related works
• Reconstruction and insulation of the roof and the roofing deck, and related works
• Replacement or renovation of windows, exterior and fire doors, and related works
• Reconstruction and insulation of the basement, and related works
• Replacement, reconstruction and balancing of the heating system, preparation of the heating system balancing protocol, and related works
• Installation, replacement or reconstruction of the water supply and sewerage system, and related works
• Construction of a heat-recovery ventilation system or reconstruction of the ventilation system, preparation of the ventilation system measurement
protocol, and related works
• Acquisition and installation of equipment necessary for using local renewable energy
• Partial or complete reconstruction of the control system and operating mechanism of the lift, or replacement of the lift, and related works
• Replacement or reconstruction of the building’s electrical system in common areas, and related works
• Installation of the insulation of the windows of common areas and apartments and restoration of the interior finish after the construction of the heating and ventilation systems
• Installation of ramps and handrails on staircases necessary for entering and exiting the building, construction of the lift, and related works
• Preparation of the building design documentation and carrying out the site investigation and building audit underlying the building design documentation
• Use of the services of the technical consultant for the renovation of the apartment building
• Exercise of owner supervision
30-50% savings, depending on the grant scheme
For the regular loans: a minimum commitment of 20% energy savings is required in buildings up to 2000 m², while in larger buildings this increases to 30%.
1. Apartment building associations wishing to undertake retrofit need first to contract an energy audit. Up to 50% of the cost of the energy audit can be financed by grants through KredEx.
2. Based on the energy audit the beneficiary needs to prepare the project design or building design documents (energy audit, energy consumption reports, selected energy efficiency measures, feasibility, required budget, building permit, etc.). Up to 50% of the building design costs can be financed by grants through KredEx.
3. The beneficiary requests at least three formal price quotes for the works to be carried out.
4. Submission of the project and related documents to the intermediary bank and application for loan and/or grants.
5. Project appraisal and creditworthiness assessment by the intermediary banks.
6. Formal decision on approval for financing by intermediary banks.
7. Forwarding of grant application by intermediaries to KredEx.
8. Formal decision on approval of grants by KredEx
9. Signatory of loan agreement with intermediaries and grant agreement with KredEx.
10. Service suppliers (works contractor, project management, supervisors, etc.) are chosen and contracted by the beneficiary.
11. During the works phase the invoices related to the works and the related services are financed by the bank (funds made available to the beneficiary or paid directly to the service providers).
12. At the end of the works the construction grants (15%- 35%) can be paid out to
the beneficiary.
Grants are available through KredEx for those housing associations who wish to undertake deep retrofit or reconstruction.
a. Beneficiaries can obtain grants of 15%, 25% or 35% depending on the level of energy savings achieved:
• For 15% grants the beneficiaries must meet the terms for the renovation loan, achieve energy savings of 20% for buildings up to 2000m² or 30% for buildings over 2000m², obtain energy label E and limit energy consumption to less than 250 kWh/m²
• For 25% grants the beneficiaries need to include roof, facade, windows (Uvalue 1.1), heating system, achieve energy saving of at least 40%, obtain
energy label D and limit energy consumption to less than 200 kWh/m²
• For 35% grants the beneficiaries need to include roof, facade, windows (Uvalue 1.1), heating system, heat-recovery ventilation system, achieve energy saving of at least 50%, obtain energy label C and limit energy consumption to less than 150 kWh/m².
b. Beneficiaries can obtain grants for up to 50% of the expenses for energy audit and building expert evaluations and project design documents. The purpose of these grants is to motivate representatives of apartment buildings to consult with an expert before planning and performing any reconstruction work, and to have the works carried out in accordance with the expert’s suggestions and the Estonian Building Act.
c. KredEx also provides apartment building loan guarantees covering up to 75% of the loan amount with no collateral requirement. These guarantees are intended for higher risk rated apartment buildings (number of debtors, rural area, low market value, payment risk) and when reconstruction cost per m² is higher due to complex reconstruction. Guarantee fee charges of 1.2% – 1.7% apply.
Since 2019, a new renovation grant is managed by KredEx:
• The grant amounts to 30% of the total cost of the renovation works in Tallinn and Tartu, and to 40% of the total cost of the renovation works in rural
municipalities neighbouring Tallinn and Tartu, where the market value of the property in the year preceding the submission of the application was higher than €500/m2 according to the transaction database of the Land Board, as well as in Elva, Haapsalu, Keila, Kohila, Kuressaare, Maardu, Otepää, Paikuse, Pärnu, Rakvere, Rapla, Sauga, Uuemõisa and Viljandi. In the rest of Estonia, the grant amounts to 50% of the total cost of the renovation works.
• In regions other than Tallinn and Tartu, it is possible to apply for a grant that is 10% lower than the official percentage if all the required conditions are not met, for example, if no heat-recovery ventilation system will be built or if the linear thermal bridge requirement will not be met.
Series of promotional videos available at www.kredex.ee/en/videopank
As of today the whole funding (€72 million) has been exhausted. Notwithstanding its depletion the KredEx Fund is still taking applications in the hope that it can secure new funding. The fund has not really yet begun its revolving potential as it is still reimbursing the loans obtained from some of its funders (CEB and the Estonian government).
Despite the fact that the KredEx Fund has not been able yet to leverage on its revolving capacity it has proven to be a successful fund supporting the Estonian government’s objective of improving the energy efficiency and indoor climate in targeted buildings. The loan scheme has been successful in promoting the take-up of innovative solutions to improve energy efficiency in buildings, often by as much as 40%. Through its focused and intense promotional activities it has been instrumental in increasing energy efficiency awareness in Estonia
Community Tailored Actions for Energy Poverty Mitigation in the CEE and CIS region
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No #892054.
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