In divided and cooperative property buildings, the role of residents - tenants, owners and co-operators - is crucial for the decision making process, especially for what concern the retrofitting of existing buildings. Different Member States have different roles in the decision making process, in some cases with special rules for energy efficient renovation. The aim of this report is to describe the situation in different Member States, especially in Bulgaria, Estonia and Italy, and to address good organizational practices to facilitate the decision making process for renovation in the different national/regional legal frameworks.

The second part of this publication is dedicated to Communication & Marketing activities of nZEB in Divided and Cooperative Ownership. This topic is of extreme relevance for new constructions and it is interesting also for deep renovation projects. In fact, on one side it is assumed that the quality of more performing buildings brings higher construction costs than business as usual, but on the other side it gives a competitive advantage to the providers of low energy houses: “Low energy buildings cost a bit more but they can be sold easily!”. With this work, the authors tried to understand whether this assumption is true also in practice, and what are the winning communication and marketing strategies to be adopted. In deep renovation projects, the aim of improving significantly the energy performance can be driving force for the entire project, taking with it those measures which are necessary to improve the overall quality of the building.

Download here the report “Legal & organizational framework and Communication & marketing of nZEB in Divided and Cooperative Ownership" and its annexes.

The scope of this publication is to provide a clear idea of the cost effectiveness of Low Energy and nearly-Zero Energy Buildings in divided and cooperative ownership. The study is based on the direct experience of low energy buildings constructed in Bulgaria, Estonia and Italy, including both new constructions and refurbishments projects. The information provided by Housing Managers as well as the feedback from the people living in the buildings was key to help drafting this report. 

To assess the cost effectiveness of the operations, three parameters such as Investment costs vs. Running costs balance, Increased market value of the property due to the higher energy standard reached and the Improved comfort that is reflected into higher users satisfaction, have been identified and analysed. Concerning the latter, it is indeed important to underline that beside the financial calculations that concur to assess the cost effectiveness of a project, it is also important to consider that a share of the potential energy savings is actually consumed to get a better indoor climate and comfort for tenants, this should also be somehow considered as a (very) positive outcome of building or renovating to a low energy standard.

Download here the report “Cost-effectiveness of nZEB in Divided and Cooperative Ownership in practice".

Two themes of extreme importance for the construction and retrofitting of nearly-Zero Energy multifamily buildings have been thoroughly addressed in this publication: financing, which is vital especially for retrofitting projects, and renewable energy applications, which according to the nZEB definition must be used in order to cover a significant share of the energy consumed in the buildings.

Pretending to summarize the results of this work and the complex situation outlined in the three countries object of this study in a few words is far too ambitious, however, there are some points which have been pointed out and that are common to the members of the TaskForce who contributed to this report; there is indeed need for clear condominium rules in order to facilitate the decision making process for retrofitting and simple financing schemes, which take into account the different types of the buildings’ occupants. From a technical perspective, a good understanding of the actual energy consumption of the buildings (by both the occupants and housing managers) as well as a better knowledge between operators about energy efficiency technologies and even more about renewable energy systems, are other two important issues to be taken into account.

Beside the typical desk research, the authors gathered information from housing managers, national experts, pilot projects and from the outcomes of the international Workshop held on 11 June 2013 in Milan. To maximize the benefit of this work for local practitioners, an updated overview of the national schemes available in the Countries involved in this TaskForce (Bulgaria, Estonia and Italy) have been made available in annex in the respective national language.

Download here the report “Financing nearly-Zero Energy projects and Renewable Energy Sources in Divided and Cooperative Properties" and its annexes.

To capitalise on the work done in the framework of other EU-funded projects and explore synergies with them, the Members of the Divided/Cooperative ownership TaskForce relied on the ‘Plug-in to POWER HOUSE’ session of the website, were key outputs of concluded and ongoing projects were collected and made available. 

Click here to access relevant resources for nZEB in Divided/Cooperative ownership.