Residential energy advice grant (EBW)

• You can apply as an owner of an owner-occupied or rented residential building, or as a WEG. Tenants, leaseholders and people with a legal right to use another person’s property (usufruct) need the owner’s written permission. A buyer can apply once a notarised purchase contract is signed, without waiting for registration in the land register.
• The building must be in Germany. Its building-permit application or building notification must date back at least ten years when you apply. Heated non-residential buildings being converted to housing also qualify; a listed non-residential building can qualify for conversion even if it was unheated.
• For mixed-use buildings, the adviser determines under section 106 of the Building Energy Act (GEG) whether residential and non-residential portions must be assessed together or separately. Separately assessed portions require applications under their respective advice programmes. A planned extension qualifies only if it can also be supported under KfW’s energy-efficient renovation programme.
• Choose an adviser listed in the federal energy-efficiency expert register under “Energieberatung für Wohngebäude”. A repeat grant for the same building is normally possible only four years after the previous grant was paid; a change of ownership removes that wait.
• Businesses must qualify as micro, small or medium-sized enterprises under EU Recommendation 2003/361/EC. This means fewer than 250 staff and either annual turnover of no more than €50 million or a balance-sheet total of no more than €43 million; figures from a wider business group may need to be included. Large businesses and SME owners that could use their own staff with the required adviser qualification are excluded. Renting out property counts as business activity, even for an individual.
• You must disclose other de minimis aid, meaning public support counted against the scheme’s small-aid limit. The ceiling applies to a “single undertaking” under the de minimis rules: combine the applicant’s aid with aid received by connected businesses treated as the same undertaking. This aid aggregation is a separate test from the group calculation used to establish SME size. Over the applicable three-year period, the combined aid including this grant must remain below €300,000. For businesses providing services of general economic interest, such as social housing, the guideline instead requires the total to remain below €750,000. Other exclusions under the applicable de minimis rules include primary agricultural production and primary fisheries or aquaculture production.
• The federal government, federal states and their institutions, political parties, and approved advisers who are the sole owner, usufruct holder, tenant or leaseholder of the building are excluded. Applicants subject to insolvency proceedings, or required to provide a formal disclosure of assets or who have already provided one, are excluded; the rule can also cover a legal entity’s representative.
• You cannot use other public grants for the same advice. Funding for carrying out the recommended renovation is permitted.

Owners living abroad can apply. BAFA requires an owner without a German tax identification number because they live abroad to obtain one from the Federal Central Tax Office.

Status

Løbende ansøgning

Vilkår for ansøgningsrunden

• The guideline is valid through 31 December 2026. Grants depend on available budget and BAFA’s approval.[^c20][^c21]

Find a listed adviser and obtain their dena adviser number. Register or sign in to the BAFA portal, choose “+ NEUER ANTRAG” and select EBW. You are the applicant; an adviser can submit for you with a signed power of attorney. A WEG’s manager can represent the association without a separate power of attorney for the manager.

Apply before signing a binding advice contract. A contract signed earlier is allowed only if a contractual clause makes it take effect only on BAFA’s funding approval or ends it if funding is refused (a suspensive or resolutory condition). Preliminary planning can take place before applying. After applying, you may proceed before approval at your own financial risk; funding depends on BAFA’s decision and available budget.

Complete the consultation within the nine-month approval period stated by BAFA. For a separately approved WEG presentation, the period is at most two years after receipt of the approval notice. The adviser must use BAFA’s permitted iSFP application version; from 1 December 2026 this is version 2.7.x.

Pay the advice invoice in full. Once BAFA has approved the grant and the consultation is complete, submit the electronic payment claim (Verwendungsnachweis) through the BAFA portal. Supply the requested declarations and tax details; the roadmap, invoice and payment proof are required only if BAFA selects the claim for a sample check. BAFA pays the grant directly to the applicant after checking the claim. If the WEG presentation grant was requested and approved, claim it with the signed presentation form, together with the main claim if the meeting has already happened or through BAFA’s upload facility after the meeting.

Submit the claim no later than six months after the approval period ends. Missing the submission deadline makes the approval automatically ineffective. If needed, request an extension before the deadline; BAFA currently allows a one-off six-month extension of the claim submission period. The programme guideline runs through 31 December 2026.