Grants for business and municipal building renovation
Grants for comprehensive energy renovation of predominantly nonresidential buildings in Austria, with support based on building size and renovation quality. Apply before committing to the work.
Ta możliwość jest obecnie dostępna po angielsku.
The “Umfassende Gebäudesanierung” programme supports insulation, replacement windows and external doors, external shading and associated work that reduces heating demand. Roof and façade greening can be included only alongside comprehensive thermal renovation. Material, installation and planning costs can qualify; planning is capped at 10% of eligible physical investment costs. Interior fit-outs, plumbing, heating/electrical installations, insulation between heated parts and the extension share are excluded.
The grant is paid once after completion and normally does not have to be repaid if the conditions are met. It is calculated using the building’s heated gross volume before renovation, with separate rates for the first 1,000 m³ and each additional m³. A heating-demand reduction of at least 50% gives €12/€6 per m³; protected historic buildings reducing demand by at least 25% receive €18/€15. Higher-quality renovations meeting the factsheet’s OIB heating-demand formula and overall energy-efficiency factor of at most 0.90 receive €18/€15 or €26/€17. These are calculated using the energy certificate, including building geometry and storey height.
Small/micro businesses, associations and religious institutions can receive a €6/m³ supplement. A further €6/m³ supplement is available where renewable raw-material insulation covers more than 25% of insulated surfaces, for example wood fibre, hemp or cellulose. Evidence is required at final settlement. Greening rates are €120/m² for façade-mounted systems, €60/m² for ground-rooted façade greening and €18/m² for roofs.
The calculated award is limited to 50% of eligible additional investment costs for small businesses and organisations not competing in a market, 40% for medium-sized businesses and 30% for large businesses. These additional costs are the eligible expenditure needed to achieve the environmental improvement, with any required comparison against a conventional investment; they are not automatically the whole renovation bill. The project ceiling is €4.5 million, and the public funding need stated in the application can lower the award. Municipalities receive 60% of the corresponding calculated business grant, not a 60% reimbursement rate.
Taxes, financing costs, own staff labour, individual invoices below €500 and other listed non-environmental costs are excluded. Planning and necessary preparatory work have timing exceptions; other costs before application or after the completion deadline do not qualify. Other public support must be declared and remain within the applicable combined aid ceiling. Combining support for the same investment with another Austrian federal grant requires the programme’s authorised, coordinated route; it is not an automatic entitlement. The application also allows assessment for European Regional Development Fund co-financing.
Eligibility
Businesses, other economically active organisations, associations, religious institutions and eligible Austrian public authorities can apply. Foreign businesses can qualify when the environmental investment is at an Austrian business site. Private household applicants are excluded. The building must be predominantly used for business or public purposes; subordinate residential areas can be included. Employee or seasonal-worker apartments count as residential use, while predominantly commercial room letting can qualify.
Before renovation, the building must have energy class D or worse, or satisfy the alternative heating-demand threshold in the factsheet. The renovation must meet one of the specified improved-building standards or reduce heating demand by at least 50%, or at least 25% for protected buildings. Historic-building work requires agreement and confirmation from the Federal Monuments Authority. Unheated building parts and extensions are not funded. Any expansion of heated volume must stay below 100% of the existing volume, and the energy improvement must come mainly from renovating the existing building.
Company size uses the EU SME rules, including linked and partner businesses. Small companies have fewer than 50 staff and turnover or total assets no more than €10 million; medium companies have fewer than 250 staff and turnover no more than €50 million or assets no more than €43 million. Public ownership can prevent SME status, subject to the stated exceptions. An association is not automatically outside State-aid rules: an organisation selling services in competition is treated as a market participant.
State-aid awards exclude undertakings in difficulty and applicants with an outstanding EU recovery order for unlawful aid. The financial-difficulty test includes insolvency conditions, loss of more than half the relevant capital through accumulated losses, unresolved rescue/restructuring aid and additional debt/interest-cover tests for large companies. SMEs younger than three years are exempt from the capital-loss tests, not every difficulty criterion. The official explanation of the EU test helps identify the relevant financial situation.
Farm businesses can participate only where the project is not eligible under agricultural funding. Subordinate federal agencies and measures carrying out sovereign federal administration are excluded. A municipal market activity must cover more than 50% of its costs, keep full accounts including assets and debts, and have substantial decision-making independence established through a municipal resolution. Direct municipal renovation applications instead receive the municipal grant calculation described above. Leasing, hire purchase or contracting can be used only for purely nationally funded projects. For leasing or hire purchase, ownership must pass to the beneficiary by the last instalment. In contracting, the owner who records the investment in its accounts must apply: if this is the contractor, both contractor and customer must be eligible, the environmental benefit must be maintained throughout the grant agreement and the financial benefit must reach the customer. If the customer applies, ownership must pass to it by the last instalment. Where payment is based on instalments paid by the applicant, only qualifying amounts actually paid by final settlement count, excluding interest and charges. The customer’s company size is used for the grant calculation.
Where renovation anticipates future EU building-energy standards, aid must be granted before minimum energy-performance standards become binding on the business. For other future EU standards, the investment must be completed at least 18 months before they enter into force.
How to apply
- Status
- Nabór ciągły
Applications remain possible until the budget is exhausted. Submit a complete online application to KPC before the first binding order other than planning, delivery, construction start or another irreversible commitment, whichever happens first. For leasing or contracting, apply before signing that agreement or ordering equipment, whichever is earlier. Work may start at the applicant’s risk after KPC confirms receipt; receipt is not funding approval.
Provide before/after energy certificates, including separate residential parts, existing and proposed plans, eligible-cost estimates and a bank report if investment exceeds €500,000. KPC assesses the project, the competent minister approves it, and the agreement becomes binding when KPC receives the signed acceptance.
Finish within 24 months from the approval date stated in the grant agreement and in any event before 31 December 2029. Submit the final account, invoices, payment evidence and professional confirmation that the energy renovation matches the submitted certificates by the contractual settlement deadline. Confirmations may come from the specified construction or engineering professionals; an energy-certificate issuer or energy adviser can certify buildings up to 2,000 m³ before renovation.
Keep the supported investment operating for at least ten years and retain the required records for checks. Obtain consent for significant changes and report ownership changes. Failure to deliver or maintain the agreed environmental result, misuse or other breaches can lead to cancellation or repayment, with interest. The signed agreement sets the detailed obligations.