756 blocks have been approved for rehabilitation under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan

Nearly BGN 1.13 billion will be invested entirely free of charge under the first stage of the procedure for energy renovation of the residential building stock

756 multi-family residential buildings in 102 municipalities have been approved for renovation under procedure BG-RRP-4.023 “Support for Sustainable Energy Renovation of the Residential Building Stock - Stage I” within the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan, which is funded by the European Union. BGN 1 128 694 945,76 will be invested in energy efficiency measures in these blocks.

A total of 3,068 project proposals were received from 152 municipalities for a total amount of BGN 3,972,426,084.04, which exceeded the available budget by almost 4 times. The start of the procedure was given on 20.12.2022, and the opportunity to apply was given to all owners of multi-family residential buildings that are managed under the Condominium Management Act and were designed before 26 April 1999.

2178 buildings, for which the prescribed renovation measures amount to BGN 2.673 billion, are included in the reserve list of project proposals. The reserve list also includes proposals that have a higher score of 115 points but are in municipalities that have reached their grant limits and cannot be funded. This ensures that the Plan funds reach more Bulgarian municipalities and avoids significant territorial concentration of investments in certain municipalities and regions.

Rejected as non-compliant were 119 project proposals, which would have required an investment of BGN 101 million. 15 project proposals were withdrawn.

In January 2024, the signing of the contracts with the municipalities for the provision of the funds, which are entirely grants, to the buildings approved for funding will begin. In turn, local authorities will enter into contracts with the approved blocks. In order to avoid wasting time, municipal administrations may start advertising for tenders for the selection of contractors prior to their conclusion. If implemented in a timely manner, the implementation of the measures prescribed for the renovation of the buildings will be able to begin as early as the 2024 construction season. Construction and installation works must also be carried out in compliance with the planned schedules, because the deadline for the implementation of activities financed under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan is mid-2026.

The owners of the blocks that are included in the reserve list of the first stage of the procedure “Support for sustainable energy renovation of the residential building stock” can apply for funding from Stage II. A budget of BGN 282 470 400 is foreseen for this phase. Buildings approved for this stage of the procedure will receive up to 80% grant. Each Owners' Association will have to provide a self-financing contribution of 20% of the eligible project costs. The application documents are again submitted through the municipal or district administrations. All multi-family residential buildings in the country, managed under the provisions of the Condominium Management Act and designed before 26 April 1999, are eligible to participate here as well. The deadline for applications is 16 January 2024, and in case of lack of sufficient interest and submitted projects of less value than the envisaged budget, it is envisaged to extend the deadline until the end of February 2024.

The objective of the measures to be implemented in the two phases of the procedure is to improve the energy performance of the multi-family residential buildings and to bring them up to energy class “B”. The objectives are also to reduce the country's energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save 30% of primary energy for each site in the residential building stock, reduce energy poverty by reducing energy costs, improve living conditions and quality of life through technological renovation and modernisation of the building stock, etc