TACKling OBSTacles in social housing

D20

BOOKLET ITALY :

ENGLISH VERSION

Tackling obstacles to energy efficiency in social housing

www.tackobst.eu

To tackle the obstacles to Energy Efficiency

Buildings are responsible for more than 40% of energy consumption and CO2 emissions in Europe. Meanwhile, the residential sector represents the lar-gest potential for energy efficiency (27%). European directives and national laws impose requirement of energy performance in social buildings but there is no integration between social and energy policies. The social housing sector is not treated specifically in energy policy. TACKOBST aims at providing metho-dology and concrete tools for Professional Unions and Social Housing Operators to remove the different obstacles still met in the energy efficiency strategy.

3 Objectives

TACKOBST develops methodological tools for Social Housing Operators and their Unions to be an active partner supporting the environmental policies. These tools aim at: • proposing feasable new solutions• lobbying the national authorities• disseminating the outcomes in the professional branch

3 Steps

• TACKOBST aims at identifying the main obstacles met by social housing companies when they set up energy efficiency policies, and proposing recommendations compiled in a book of recommendations. • These recommendations are tested by the Social Housing Operators involved in the TACKOBST project.• and valorised in a pedagogical guide which targets all

types of stakeholders (European and national public authorities, providers, tenants…).

3 Issues

• Institutionnal and legal issues: especially in keeping with the regulation of the rent and running costs, procedures or tax incentives …• Technical and economical issues: how to allow a financial

contribution ensuring a return on investments allocated to energy savings? How to deal with the prefabricated stocks?...

• Cultural and social issues: how to develop an efficient cooperation with occupiers and with the main public stakeholders ?...

2 Products

• A book of recommendations to be used by the Professional Unions to lobby their stakeholders• A pedagogical guide developing technical specifications

on how to implement the recommendations in the Social Housing Op-erators managing housing stocks.

Strong impacts expected

• Improvement of the national legislations• Improvement of the co-operation with the stakeholders• Better living standards for low-income households• Active contribution to the European objectives.

A European partnership of key actors• TACKOBST combines institutional knowledge and the influence of Professional Unions with operational expertise of Social Housing Operators. • TACKOBST gathers Professional Unions and Social Housing Operators from France, Germany, Italy and Bulgaria: a partnership representative of the variety of social Housing Operators in Europe.

A methodology for innovative solutions

A multilingual web site giving many materials to the public

The main identified obstacles- Strictness of rented social housing system that doesn’t allow to recover investment in energy efficiency - Lack of coordination between different institutional levels and lack of new financing schemes for programmes related to social housing and low cost measures.- Difficulty of operation in the historical centre cause of rules for historical and environmental protection.- Lack of specific awareness of professionals and difficulty to involve tenants cause of their lack of interest of energy costs.

The main recommendations and proposals- Social housing rent rules repeal after operations for energy saving (partial recover of investment by rent’s increasing).guaranties for TPF, fiscal incentives and agreements with tenants’ Unions.- Strategic management of energy in the social housing stock and energy refurbishment programmes in the long term.- Mix of operations and SHO’s activities in the energy sector.

Tests of the solutions carried out in the pilot sites

• IPES Bolzano (low cost measures)• ACER Reggio Emilia (low cost measures agreement with tenants’ Unions)• ATC Torino (low cost measures, ATC = ESCo)• ATC Biella (TPF)• CASA SpA Firenze (mix of operations)

National Context

The residential sector is responsible for 30% of energy consumption in Italy. The key actors of the process are, other than the Government, the Regions that are in charge of making law about environment, social housing, Municipalities and SHO. The implementation of the actions for energy refurbishment is feels the effect of

several rules about social housing (maximum cost and rules about rental), rules about energy certification of buildings and others related to TPF (Third Party Finacing) and ESCo. The regulations about procurements and buildings influence these actions in a special way.

TACKOBST in Italy

The methodology applied to Italian context: The proposals under Tackobst project aim to:- simplification of procedures and realization of protocols or platforms for institutional coordination;- promotion of Strategic Plans for management of building stock and low cost solutions and promotion of technicians training, inclusion and awareness of tenants.

Outcomes expected and obtained - Scheme of agreement with tenants in order to share the costs between landlord and tenants- Cost/benefit analysis to improve energy efficiency- Calls for tender related to operations by TPF- Mix of operation in order to self-finance- ESCo like an “operational instrument” to social housing

The national Government isn’t really interested in energy refurbishment of social housing real estate. The social housing operators can’t have access to tax incentives of 55% (allowed for private sector) and they have difficulty to operate. SHO can plan a wide action of energy refurbishment as a consequence of lack of incentives and financing even if there are 400.000 housing in needs of renovation.

Luciano Cecchi, President of Federcasa

How to deal with the book of recommendations? The Book of Recommendations is intended for all the decision-makers who want to know more about energy efficiency obstacles in Social Housing and about the corresponding solutions. It is composed of a first –thematic- part which gives a general overview of the obstacles and recommendations proposed by the TACKOBST project and of a second part which gives more details on each recommendations.

How to deal with the pedagogical guide? The Pedagogical Guide presents at the national level the recommendations of the Book of recommendations experimented by the Social Housing Operators involved in the project. It aims at proposing operational solutions and concrete tools to the Social Housing Organisms to implement the TACKOBST recommendations.

The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Communities. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.