Federal funding for efficient buildings (BEG)

Within the framework of the "BEG Heating Subsidy for Private Individuals – Residential Buildings" scheme, KfW supports the installation of efficient heat generators and connection to a building network or heating network in Germany to improve energy efficiency.

Funding objective

The aim of this funding is to incentivize investments in individual measures that increase energy efficiency and the share of renewable energies in final energy consumption for heating in Germany, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in buildings. Achieving a (new) Efficiency House level through the funded individual measures is not required.

Citizens should not be overwhelmed when switching to heating with renewable energies. Therefore, low-income owner-occupiers can receive an income bonus in addition to the basic subsidy if they meet the corresponding requirements in this fact sheet. To accelerate the transition to climate-friendly heating systems in residential buildings, applicants can also receive a climate acceleration bonus, an efficiency bonus, and an emissions reduction surcharge under certain funding conditions listed in this fact sheet. This subsidy product thus takes social needs into account and simultaneously creates incentives to ensure the earliest possible renewal and conversion of heating systems, thus achieving a rapid, additional positive climate impact.

The funding is based on the "Guidelines for Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings – Individual Measures (BEG EM)" published in the Federal Gazette on December 29, 2023, in the version dated December 21, 2023.

This funding product complies with the Paris-compatible sector guidelines of the KfW Banking Group, which define specific requirements for the climate compatibility of the respective investments.

Client

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK).

The most important things in brief

Who can apply?

All private owners of residential buildings and homeowners’ associations (WEG) of residential buildings in Germany are eligible to apply.

The application process will start in stages:

• Since February 27, 2024, natural persons (private individuals) who own existing single-family homes and live in them as their primary or sole residence are eligible to apply.
• From May 28, 2024, natural persons (private individuals) who are owners of existing multi-family houses (with more than one residential unit) as well as condominiums (WEG) are eligible to apply, provided that measures are implemented on the common property.
• As planned, from the end of August 2024, natural persons (private individuals) who are the owners of rented or non-owner-occupied single-family homes, as well as owner-occupied, rented or non-owner-occupied condominiums in condominium associations (WEG), will be eligible to apply, provided that measures are implemented on the special property.

What is being funded?

The installation of efficient heat generators and heating support systems as well as the connection to a building network or heating network are supported.Requirements are:

• It is an existing residential building, the building application or building notification of which was submitted at least five years ago at the time of application, • the residential building falls under the scope of the currently valid Building Energy Act (GEG) after implementation of all measures,
• the project will increase the energy efficiency of the building and/or the share of renewable energy in the building’s final energy consumption,
• The installation of the heating or the network connection is combined with an optimization of the entire heating distribution system.

The following are not eligible:

• • Home-built systems and prototypes (systems that are operated in fewer than four copies) and
• used systems and systems with components that were acquired primarily as used systems.

How is funding provided?

Funding is provided in the form of a grant, which will be transferred to your bank account after completion of your project and after positive verification of compliance with the funding requirements.

The subsidy consists of a basic subsidy and, if applicable, one or more bonus subsidies (climate speed bonus, efficiency bonus and income bonus).

In addition, an emissions reduction surcharge may be granted.

The minimum investment amount, after deduction of costs amounting to the emission reduction surcharge, is 300 euros (gross).

Detailed information can be found under "Funding Details" in this fact sheet.

6 steps to the grant

Details on funding

Basic funding

Bonus funding

residential units

Eligible heating technology

In the event of a heating defect, the costs of renting temporary heating equipment until an eligible heating system is installed can be subsidised.

These rental expenses will be reimbursed for a maximum rental period of one year funded.

The use of heating technology is also eligible for subsidies through hire purchase, rent, leasing, and contracting. The contractually agreed installments can be considered as total eligible costs for a maximum of 10 years, based on the service life. Costs incurred for operation, maintenance, and energy consumption are not included.

Household

The household includes all owners registered as having their main residence or sole residence in the housing unit to be subsidised at the time of application, as well as their spouses and life partners and partners in a marriage-like relationship registered there as having their main residence or sole residence.

Annual household income

To calculate the annual household income, the average of the taxable income of the second and third years prior to receipt of the application is determined. The annual household income is determined from the taxable income of the relevant household members for a calendar year. For example: For an application in 2024, the average of the income from 2021 and 2022 is calculated. Section 2 Paragraph 5a of the Income Tax Act does not apply. Taxable income is proven exclusively on the basis of the income tax assessments from the tax office. Minors at the time of application are not considered for the calculation of the annual household income.

Own contributions

If the measure is not carried out by a specialist company (private self-performance), only the costs directly related to the energy-saving renovation measure Material costs are subsidized. This requires that an energy efficiency expert or a specialist contractor confirms that the project was carried out professionally and that the material costs were correctly stated.

Mixed-use buildings

Mixed-use buildings are eligible for this product provided the living space in the building exceeds 50 percent of the heated building area. The costs attributable to non-residential use can also be subsidized. For the purpose of determining the maximum subsidy amount, non-residential space is not considered a residential unit.

Funding exclusions

KfW generally excludes certain projects from funding or specifies conditions that must be met. Details can be found in the KfW Banking Group's exclusion list: www.kfw.de/exclusion list.

Application

The basis for your application in the "My KfW" customer portal is the BzA prepared by your energy efficiency expert or your specialist contractor.

In principle, a supply or service contract must be concluded prior to submitting an application, subject to a condition precedent or subsequent condition requiring the granting of a commitment by KfW. This means that if the condition precedent is met, the contract is provisionally ineffective until the condition is met (commitment by KfW), or definitively ineffective upon the final non-fulfillment of the condition (rejection of the application). The supply or service contract must contain an expected implementation date for the requested measure.

Project start

The conclusion of supply contracts or service agreements for the project without agreeing on a suspensive or resolutory condition for the granting of a KfW commitment is considered the start of the project. The start of the project before the application is submitted excludes funding.

Before starting the project, you apply for the grant in the customer portal "My KfW" (meine.kfw.de) by selecting the product "BEG heating subsidy for private individuals – residential buildings" (458).When applying, you must upload a supply contract or service contract concluded subject to a suspensive or resolutory condition for the granting of a commitment by KfW. In this case, the start of a project is defined by the commitment (fulfillment of the condition) or the start of construction work on site.

The person registered in the "My KfW" customer portal must be the same person submitting the application. Applications submitted on behalf of a third party or for a third party as a legal representative (authorization) are not permitted outside of an application for a condominium. Only one application can be submitted for the same measure.

Special features of condominiums and multi-family houses:

Applications for condominiums and multi-family houses with multiple owners are submitted via a joint application (basic application) and, if applicable, additional applications. The basic application includes the basic subsidy and, if applicable, the efficiency bonus and, if applicable, the emission reduction surcharge for measures on the residential building.

Applications by authorized persons are only permitted for condominiums (WEGs) with a measure on the common property. In this case, an application is submitted either by the condominium management or, exclusively in the case where the condominium has not appointed a manager (natural person or condominium management company), by an authorized person who is the owner of the condominium in the customer portal "My KfW" (meine.kfw.de). If the application is submitted by the administration of the condominium association, please upload the minutes of the administrator appointment valid at the time of application when submitting the supporting documents.

If the application is submitted by a condominium management company, the person acting must be authorized to represent the company in the public register maintained for the company type (e.g. commercial register). Applications from persons whose authorization to represent is not evident from the public register entry will not be accepted. If there is no entry in the register for the management of the condominium, the authorization to represent stipulated in the articles of association or statutes shall apply. If there is joint authority to represent, the person acting must be authorized to submit the application alone. Please upload proof of authorization to represent that is valid at the time of application when submitting the evidence. If the application is submitted by an authorized owner, please upload a power of attorney that is valid at the time of application when submitting the evidence.

An application for the same measure for common property is permissible if owner-occupiers in a condominium association (WEG) or multi-family homes wish to apply for a climate speed bonus and/or income bonus. In this case, you can submit a supplementary application for yourself in addition to the basic application for the condominium association (WEG) or multi-family home. The supplementary application must be submitted no later than six months after the basic application has been approved and before the supporting documents for the basic application are submitted. The funding rate for the subsidy components of the supplementary application is determined from the information sheet valid at the time the basic application is received from the condominium association (WEG). The condominium association administration or the authorized representative of the condominium association will provide the owner-occupiers with the necessary information via the basic application.

The climate speed bonus and the income bonus can only be applied for once per housing unit.

Special features of multi-family houses:

If there are multiple owners, you as the applicant confirm their consent to the funding when submitting your application.

Transitional arrangement

For projects commencing between the date of publication of the "Guidelines for Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings – Individual Measures (BEG EM)" in the Federal Gazette on December 29, 2023, and August 31, 2024, the application may exceptionally be submitted until November 30, 2024. During this period, early commencement and completion of the project prior to the application will not affect the funding. Supply or service contracts concluded between December 29, 2023, and August 31, 2024, for such projects do not require any suspensive or resolutive conditions for the funding approval. From September 1, 2024, the application must be submitted in any case before work begins on site.

Involvement of an energy efficiency expert or a specialist contractor

To apply for funding and to support the project, an energy efficiency expert from the energy efficiency expert list for federal funding programs (expert list) in the category "Federal funding for efficient buildings: residential buildings" (www.energie-efficiency-experten.de) or a specialist contractor.

An energy efficiency expert or a specialist contractor checks and confirms compliance with the minimum technical requirements according to the appendix to the "Guidelines for Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings - Individual Measures (BEG EM)".

Submission of evidence and identification

As a grant recipient, you must identify yourself via the "My KfW" customer portal before submitting the proof. For a condominium association (WEG), the person listed in "My KfW" (i.e., an authorized representative of the property management company or an authorized owner in the WEG) must identify themselves.

Approval period

You must fully complete the project within 36 months of KfW's approval (approval period). Evidence of project implementation must be submitted to the "My KfW" customer portal within six months of project completion (date of the last invoice), but no later than six months after the end of the approval period.

If you do not meet this deadline, the grant will expire and cannot be paid out.

The implementation of the project must be demonstrated as follows:

The energy efficiency expert or the specialist contractor checks and confirms the total eligible costs and the product-compliant implementation of the project in accordance with the information sheet including the appendix and prepares the BnD.

Owners of existing single-family homes will likely be able to submit proof of ownership starting in September 2024. The following exception applies: If the last invoice for the implementation of your project was issued before September 2024, you must submit the proof by the end of February 2025 at the latest.

The submission of evidence will probably be possible for owners of existing multi-family houses and for condominiums with measures on common property from November 2024.The following applies: If the last invoice for the implementation of your project was issued before November 2024, you must submit the proof by the end of May 2025 at the latest.

The following documents must be submitted as proof:

Invoices

For hire purchase, rental, leasing, and contracting, the corresponding contract must be submitted instead of the invoice. The above-mentioned requirements for the invoice(s) apply accordingly. Furthermore, at least one payment by the applicant on the contract must be made non-cash.

Registration confirmation

To claim the climate speed bonus, you must provide proof of self-occupancy using your official registration confirmation or registration certificate. To claim the income bonus, you must submit the registration confirmations or registration certificates of all relevant household members, each of which must state their primary or sole residence at the time of application. This includes you as the applicant, all owners registered in the residential unit with their primary or sole residence at the time the application is received, as well as their spouses, life partners, and partners in a marriage-like relationship registered there with their primary or sole residence.

Land register extract

As proof of ownership, owner-occupiers must provide the following information in order to claim the climate speed bonus and the income bonus: Submit a land register extract. The land register extract must show the address of your residential property, you as the applicant, and all owners relevant for the income bonus at the time of application. For applications from condominium associations, the respective ownership share must also be shown in the land register extract.

Income tax assessments

To claim the income bonus, you, as the applicant, and all other relevant adult household members must also submit income tax assessments for the second and third calendar years prior to the application. Wage tax certificates, pension statements, or other documents are not accepted.

Account verification

For grant amounts of EUR 15,000 or more, applications by a condominium association must provide proof that the condominium association is the account holder (bank statement or bank account confirmation).

Additional evidence

If requested during the verification process, please upload additional documentation, such as a VdZ ("Association of the German Central Heating Industry") form confirming hydraulic balancing. For air-source heat pumps and other air-heating systems, proof of balancing or adjustment of air volume flows must be submitted instead.

Special feature WEG:

Owners of condominiums and multi-family dwellings who live in residential properties (WEG) and need to submit their registration confirmation, land register extract, and income tax assessments only if they have applied for a climate speed bonus or income bonus (supplementary application). These documents must only be submitted once the supporting documents and eligibility requirements for the basic application have been positively reviewed and a payment confirmation for the basic application has been received. The supporting documents for the supplementary application must be submitted to the "My KfW" customer portal no later than six months after the payment confirmation date.

Invoices are only to be submitted for the basic application for measures on the common property by the WEG.

Payout

After KfW has successfully reviewed the supporting documents and met the funding requirements, the grant will be transferred to the recipient's bank account. This usually occurs by the end of the month following the review.

Combination with other funding products

A combination with other public funding such as loans, allowances and grants is possible up to 60 percent of the supported investment costs. Owners of self-occupied properties may only submit one application to KfW or BAFA for the total eligible costs.

A waiver of a commitment is possible. A new application for the same project can be submitted no earlier than six months after receipt of the waiver by KfW. By way of derogation, a new application can be submitted directly after receipt of the waiver by KfW until December 31, 2024. The then-current funding conditions, including the regulations regarding the project start date, apply to the new application.

The supplementary loan from KfW (information sheet see www.kfw.de/358 or www.kfw.de/359) can be combined with this grant.

Impact measurement

Within the scope of the funding tasks assigned to it, KfW is obliged to carry out its own funding-specific analyses on the efficiency of the use of funds and the achievement of funding objectives (economy, cost-effectiveness and effectiveness of the funding programme, taking into account the requirements of the Federal Budget Code (BHO) for economic efficiency analyses).

For this purpose, the data communicated for the application decision and in the further procedure can be used, as well as, to an appropriate extent, further evaluation-relevant or effectiveness-relevant data can be collected by KfW from the applicant at the time of application as well as during and after project implementation (10 years) and evaluated for the aforementioned purposes (including the measurement of potential and actually achieved levels of effectiveness).

To an appropriate extent, data from the application decision as well as other data, in particular information on the heating system before the measures were implemented, the annual energy consumption and annual energy savings, the living space and the number of residents in the residential unit or building may be collected and evaluated.

KfW also attaches great importance to data protection requirements when processing data for impact measurement purposes and provides appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of data subjects, including appropriate technical and organizational measures. In particular, the data used is anonymized or pseudonymized as soon as possible.

When measuring the funding impacts of its programs, KfW aims exclusively at determining statistical results and does not focus on evaluating actual funding impacts on a personal basis by identifying individual data subjects.

The results of the measurement have no impact on the application or any potential approval. However, KfW's audit and repayment rights remain unaffected, taking into account the established funding requirements.

For reasons arising from the particular situation of the data subject, the provision of personal data for the purposes of impact measurement may be objected to.

Please refer to the "Product-specific data protection information and information on the right of objection in domestic funding business" for additional information.

Environmental and social compatibility

The project must meet the environmentally and socially acceptable requirements and standards applicable in Germany.

Obligations to provide information, due diligence and information obligations

Within 10 years of the date of the commitment, you must retain the following documents and present them to KfW upon request:

• Complete documentation in accordance with the appendix "Technical Minimum Requirements" (TMA) of the "Guidelines for Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings – Individual Measures (BEG EM)", for example calculation documents, plans, measurement reports,
• Documents to document the services provided by the energy efficiency expert or specialist company (e.g. planning and project support),
• the invoices and proof of payments made (bank statements) and
• for condominiums and apartment buildings with multiple owners: list of the owners applying at the time of application with first name, last name and address.

KfW reserves the right to review the evidence and conduct on-site inspections at any time.

As a grant recipient, you are obliged to use the heating system for its intended purpose for 10 years and to inform KfW immediately if the use changes or is discontinued.

Subsidy significance

As part of the application process and the potential future implementation of the requested funding, KfW will collect information that is relevant to subsidies within the meaning of Section 264 of the German Criminal Code in conjunction with Section 2 of the German Subsidies Act (subsidy-relevant facts). Further information on the subsidy relevance of the application data and the individual subsidy-relevant facts will be presented during the process in the "My KfW" customer portal. Intentional or reckless false statements or failure to disclose subsidy-relevant facts are punishable as fraud (Section 263 of the German Criminal Code), unless they involve criminal subsidies within the meaning of Section 264 Paragraph 8 of the German Criminal Code.

Other information

Please note the regulations in the "General Terms and Conditions" (GTC) for the application and award of KfW grant products via the customer portal "My KfW" (meine.kfw.de (see Downloads). Depending on your individual tax situation, the use of publicly funded funds may trigger tax consequences. This particularly applies to the tax reduction under Section 35a of the Income Tax Act ("Craftsmen's Services").Please note that KfW does not provide individual information regarding the tax treatment of measures supported by KfW grants. Binding information regarding the tax treatment of measures supported by KfW grants or other public funds may only be provided by the responsible tax authority. Alternatively, you can seek individual tax advice from experts (tax advisors and the German Income Tax Assistance Association).

Legal claim

There is no entitlement to funding. KfW makes its decisions based on its due discretion within the scope of available funds.

Further information on this funding product

Further information, examples and frequently asked questions can be found online at www.kfw.de/458.

*Source: Information sheet: BEG heating subsidies for private individuals – residential buildings (kfw.de)