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Procedure descriptions

Promotion of energy advice for residential buildings (on-site advice; individual renovation roadmap)

The "Federal Funding for Energy Advice for Residential Buildings" programme of the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) can be used for residential buildings. It is aimed at

  • Owners of single-family and multi-family houses,
  • Condominium owners' associations,
  • Usufructuaries and
  • Tenants and
  • Tenants.

Funding is provided for consultancy costs amounting to 80 percent of the eligible consultancy fee:

  • a maximum of EUR 1,300 for detached or semi-detached houses and
  • a maximum of EUR 1,700 for residential buildings with 3 or more units

Condominium owners' associations receive a bonus of EUR 500.00 if the results of the consultation are presented at a special meeting (for example, at an advisory board meeting or a condominium owners' meeting).

The funding programme is administered by an energy advisor. The energy advisor applies for the funds him/herself. The energy consultant receives the energy consulting funding from BAFA and issues you an invoice reduced by the amount of the funding.

The energy advisor must present the results of the consultation in an energy consultation report, preferably an individual renovation roadmap (iSFP). He or she will hand this out to you and explain it to you.
Funding is provided in accordance with the provisions of the De Minimis Regulation if the owner of the residential building is an enterprise within the meaning of the recommendation concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.


Responsible department

the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control

Details

Prerequisite

  • Only energy advisors who have been approved by BAFA on the basis of their professional qualifications are eligible to apply.
  • An energy advisory service for residential buildings includes at least the following steps:
    • data collection on site,
    • the preparation of an energy consulting report (in particular an individual renovation roadmap), and
    • handing it over and subsequently explaining it to you as the person receiving the advice.
  • subsidised energy advice can only be claimed if
    • the building is located in Germany,
    • the building application for the residential building dates back at least 10 years,
    • the building is predominantly used for residential purposes and falls under the scope of application of the Building Energy Act (Gebäudeenergiegesetz, GEG).
  • As an advised person, you must pay a personal contribution.

Funding is excluded if

  • You, as the person being advised, are yourself licensed as an energy advisor for this funding programme,
  • You are the wife/life partner or husband/life partner of the energy advisor,
  • the majority of the residential building is owned by the federal or state government,
  • the owner is a company that does not meet the requirements for micro-enterprises and SMEs,
  • The owner of the building is an enterprise that could draw on its own staff with the qualifications required for a licence,
  • the energy consulting company has even partial ownership rights to the residential building,
  • the recipient of the advice has himself/herself been approved by the approval authority as an energy advisor for the funding programme;
  • the recipient of the advice is a company in respect of whose assets insolvency proceedings have been applied for or opened,
  • the recipient of the advice is a company that has received de minimis aid totalling at least EUR 200,000 (EUR 100,000 in the case of companies in the road transport sector) in the current year and in the previous two fiscal years including the support under these Guidelines,
  • the recipient of the advice is an undertaking which is otherwise excluded under Article 1 of the de minimis Regulation.

Procedure

You commission an approved energy advisor to provide energy advice for residential buildings.

  • The energy advisor then submits a grant application for your residential building via BAFA's online portal and receives a funding notification.
    • To submit the application online, the energy advisor must register with his/her user account.
    • If the energy advisor does not yet have a user account, he/she must register with BAFA ("advisor recognition")
  • The energy advisor now has a maximum of 9 months to carry out the advisory service and to hand over and explain the energy advisory report to you.
  • The energy advisor will issue you an invoice for the advisory service, reduced by the amount of the subsidy.
  • After the explanatory meeting, which can also be held by telephone with your consent, you and the energy advisor must sign the declaration of use. The energy advisor submits this together with the invoice and the energy consulting report to BAFA for review.
  • Finally, the grant is paid to the energy advisor.

Deadlines

  • The energy consulting must be completed after a maximum of 9 months (approval period). In the case of an additional explanation of the energy consulting report to condominium owners' associations or advisory boards, the approval period is a maximum of 2 years.
  • The complete proof of use documents must be submitted to BAFA within 3 months after the end of the approval period.

Required documents

  • Data on the counseled person
  • Data on the object of the advice
  • After the energy consulting has been carried out, the proof of use must be submitted. This consists in particular of
    • the invoice from the energy advisor,
    • proof of payment of the personal contribution by the advised person,
    • the energy consulting report and
    • the signed declaration of use

Costs

There are no costs for you when applying.

Processing time

  • The processing of applications takes a maximum of 1 week
  • Processing of proof of use documents usually takes 4 weeks

Miscellaneous

None

Release note

03.01.2022 Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

Contact

Bürger- und Standesamt (Bürgeramt)
Grabenstraße 15
89522 Heidenheim an der Brenz
Fax (0 73 21) 3 23-33 32