[New Report] Long-term renovation strategies as key instruments to guide local renovation - Lessons learned from good practices across Europe

Successful implementation of the Renovation Wave is highly dependent on the local level, in particular, the access to funding and the application of innovative instruments in municipalities across Europe. The Our Buildings report stresses the importance of Long-term renovation strategies (LTRS) for local public authorities, and shares good  practices of financing, data collection and tailored approaches for renovation.

Long-term renovation strategies (LTRS) can fulfil an essential role for local authorities aiming to decarbonise the building stock, get access to funding and benefit from opportunities presented by the Renovation Wave - but how well are municipal authorities’ needs reflected in the latest strategies submitted to the European Commission? This report presents good practices from several EU Member States including innovative projects and initiatives in the categories of financing instruments, data collection and storage, tailored renovation approaches, public buildings, and integrated municipal planning.

The EPBD ((EU) 2018/844) requires Member States (MS) to set up long-term renovation strategies outlining how MS plan to transform their national building stock. The LTRS are meant to act as roadmaps to a highly energy-efficient and healthy building stock, providing guidance for municipalities on specific policies to stimulate deep renovation, target energy-poor communities, and prioritise public buildings as role models. The report shows that LTRS should better reflect local circumstances to ensure the implementation of comprehensive, integrative renovation activities at local level, in line with the needs of building owners and residents. The establishment of interactive and trustworthy public consultation processes is important to ensure a detailed and collaborative LTRS process in which municipal concerns and priorities are heard and taken up by national authorities. At the same time, municipal renovation strategies can be useful strategic planning instruments to support data availability and acquire future funding.

The project ‘Our Buildings’ is supported by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). This report marks the end of the project which aimed to strengthen local public officers and other municipal stakeholders in planning effective, well-targeted renovation activities in Romania and Bulgaria.