Energy Efficient Housing Programmes - Constitutional Treaty Between Austrian Federation and Länder

Country	Austria
Year Implemented	2005
Policy Status	In force
Date Effective	January 2007
Agency	•Provincial Governments
Funding	2 billion euros, annually
Policy Supersedes	Financial Incentives for Investment in Residential Renewable Generation and Residential Efficiency
Policy Type	•Incentives/Subsidies   •Grants   •Rebates •Policy Processes   •Strategic Planning •Regulatory Instruments   •Regulatory Reform   •Standards
Policy Target	•Bioenergy   •Biomass for Heat •Geothermal   •Heat •Solar Thermal   •Water Heating
Policy Sector	•Framework Policy
Description	The Länder (federal provinces) administer subsidies of more than 2 billion ? annually for housing support programmes. Therefore, a majority of dwellings is constructed or renovated with public support. The financial support allocated to housing support schemes is guaranteed by the Financial Distribution Act (allocating federal tax revenues to executive bodies on federal, provincial and municipal level) for the years 2005?2008 and needs to be re-negotiated for periods thereafter. The large amount of public money involved in the housing sector is of significant relevance for heating related energy demand and CO2 emissions. Specific schemes can give relevant incentives for more sophisticated energy solutions, like solar heating systems, optimised thermal insulation or even ?zero-energy-houses?. Therefore, the Environment Minister, representing the federal government, entered into a constitution based treaty (according to Art. 15a of the Federal Constitution) with the Länder aiming at optimising the use of subsidies for housing schemes by introducing minimum standards with respect to energy profiles. This type of treaty is legally binding and needs to be implemented in legal terms by the Parties until January 2007. The agreement provides for: shift of subsidies from construction of new dwelling to thermal renovation of existing dwellings; high quality standards for thermal renovation, including the whole building shell (exterior walls, windows and doors, ceilings and roof); maximum energy performance codes for newly constructed buildings that go well beyond standards that are foreseen in general construction codes; replacement of old fossil fuel heating systems by highly efficient systems based on renewable energy (solar or biomass) or natural gas.
URL	umwelt.lebensministerium.at/article/archive/1468
Legal References	Article 15, Federal Constitution