Renovation under the RRP will be completely free of charge

Bulgaria saves €246.5 million under the Recovery Plan for the energy renovation of residential buildings. By decision of the Council of Ministers, the management of risk projects under the RRP is transferred to the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB), and the deadline for completion of construction activities is extended until the end of 2029.

The news was announced by the outgoing regional minister Ivan Ivanov (BSP) after Wednesday's cabinet meeting. According to him, the changes were made possible after negotiations with the European Commission.

In dialogue with the EC, we agreed that the risky blocks would be transferred as a separate investment to be managed by the BDB," Ivanov commented.

What is changing?

The most significant change for citizens is the elimination of financial participation in the so-called "Stage 2" of the program. Until now, owners were expected to cover 20% of the costs – a total of approximately €14.83 million (nearly BGN 29 million). After negotiations with the European Commission, it was agreed that these projects would receive a 100% grant.

Ivanov assured that the transfer of documents from the ministry to the BBR will be done automatically through the ISUN system, which means that there will be no need to reapply.

The decision to involve the Bulgarian Development Bank comes as a measure against the delay, which put the absorption of funds at risk. A total of 454 residential buildings are being transferred to the banking institution – 177 blocks from Phase 1 and all 277 buildings approved under Phase 2.

By separating these projects into a separate investment managed by the BDB, Bulgaria has managed to preserve the entire resource of €246.5 million (BGN 482.2 million). The new deadline – December 31, 2029 – provides the necessary technological opportunity to carry out the repairs, which was physically impossible within the initial deadline of summer 2026.

There is also good news for the candidates who remained on the reserve list for Stage 1 due to exhausted resources. Minister Ivanov announced that savings are expected to be made in the conduct of public procurement. These savings will be directed towards re-ranking, which will allow some of the reserve projects to also receive funding for renovation.

We would like to remind you that at the beginning of the year, it became clear that the country was in real danger of returning more than half of the millions earmarked for energy efficiency. There was considerable confusion among municipalities and owners' associations, with some building managers having already taken out loans to guarantee their participation.

Translated with DeepL.