Policy measures for seismic and energy upgrading of buildings in EU Member States

With the aim of promoting an integrated renovation approach according to the scope of this Pilot Project, this report provides an overview of collected implementing measures for the upgrading of existing buildings across 16 EU Member States. The review includes measures such as legislation, incentives and guidance for improving the seismic and energy performance of buildings in EU Member States that included seismic risk in their national risk assessment in 2015: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Specific measures are presented and divided according to the objectives of "Seismic Strengthening", "Energy Upgrading", and, where available, "Seismic Strengthening & Energy Upgrading" within the built environment. Most identified measures regarding energy upgrading are implementations of National Energy Efficiency Action Plans and Long Term Renovation Strategies in line with the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Instead, information regarding legislation, norms and standards for the seismic upgrading of buildings are more scarcely available and highly dependent of the perceived seismic risk in the respective Member State. Examples of measures for combined seismic and energy upgrading are few, including the Ecosisma bonus tax-break schemes in Italy, the recently published legislation for the rehabilitation of existing buildings in Portugal, energy upgrading funding linked to verifying structural performance requirements in Bulgaria and Romania or the “building cards” instrument in Slovenia. Finally, general recommendations for implementing measures are provided, based on the best practices identified in the studied Member States.