Financing
Are there any public or private “green” financing initiatives for sustainable real estate projects?

There are no private green financing initiatives for sustainable real estate projects in Spain apart from the financial services offered by different banks.

However, there are public initiatives for financing sustainable real estate projects, particularly the financial measures provided by the NFEE and the IDAE, as explained in the section on “Incentives for Green Retrofit.”

Moreover, on 30 April 2021, the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) was approved. This plan was articulated in four main axes: (i) ecological transition; (ii) digital transformation; (iii) social and territorial cohesion; and (iv) gender equality. These four axes are developed through 10 policies, which in turn integrate 30 components or lines of action. One of these is Component 2: Housing Rehabilitation and Urban Regeneration Plan.

Component 2 encourages granting of aids to homeowners, neighborhood communities and private companies for implementing actions aimed at obtaining an accredited improvement in the energy efficiency of multi-family buildings and single-family dwellings, isolated or grouped, with special attention to the building envelope (facades and roofs) that separates the interior of the building from the exterior.

The beneficiaries of the aid may cover between 40% and 80% of the costs, depending on the energy savings achieved, and may reach 100% in the case of economic viability. The maximum amount of aid ranges from EUR 6,300 to EUR 18,800 per dwelling, depending on the energy savings achieved.

This aid program is managed by the autonomous communities, which publish the call for applications in their official gazette.

On the other hand, Component 2 of the PRTR also encourages financing of rehabilitation actions. It contemplates the creation of lines of guarantees provided by the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) to partially cover the risks of loans granted by private financial institutions for the rehabilitation of buildings and housing. The terms of this new line of guarantees of EUR 1.1 billion are regulated according to the agreement signed between the competent authority and the ICO and the collaboration agreements signed with the private financial institutions.

This line of financing is available to homeowners or communities of owners that undertake renovation work on residential buildings located in Spain. The maximum amount per project is EUR 30,000, with a repayment term of one to 15 years.

The PNIEC continues to support installations in buildings as a priority, and specifically encourages the creation of specific financing lines for the rehabilitation of residential buildings to improve their energy rating. These financing lines will prioritize actions affecting a large number of buildings: rehabilitation and urban regeneration actions affecting areas identified as priority areas (neighborhoods) within the framework of housing policy. Within these programs, there are programs (“Renove Plans”) focused on actions or interventions that do not affect the building as a whole, but rather individual homes of private owners for the renovation of window frames (windows and carpentry), roofs and facades independently, boilers and heaters, among others.