Restart “Saving at Home” for 35,000 households that had submitted an application

The resumption of the “Saving at Home” program for 35,000 households that had submitted applications by the end of 2015 but did not ultimately benefit from it, announced yesterday the president of ETEAN, Mr. Kostas Galiatsos. Approximately €120 million will be allocated for the resumption of the program, and the procedure for the final inclusion of beneficiaries will be announced by the Ministry of Environment next week, which is responsible for issuing the relevant ministerial decision.

Program objectives

The “Saving at Home” program, which concerned the energy upgrading of real estate, was frozen at the end of last year after the funds for the loan subsidy component were exhausted. As a result, a significant number of applications from households remained pending, which, given the exhaustion of resources, could not be satisfied, despite the inconvenience caused to the beneficiaries. The program can now be activated after funds have been found, partly from the repayment of loans granted for this purpose and the interest collected on these loans. This money, together with some additional resources, is estimated at €120 million and will be made available to satisfy the pending applications.

Of the total 35,000 households that submitted applications, a significant number are estimated to have been discouraged and will not ultimately proceed with the expenditure. The relevant applications will also have to be reviewed by the banks, which are responsible for approving the loan in relation to the applicant’s income situation. In any case, the final number of beneficiaries is expected to be lower than the number of pending applications, and the funds are expected to be sufficient to cover the demand for 25,000 households.

Loan terms

The terms of the Program will not change and the loans will be granted under the same criteria, i.e. from 15% to 70% loan subsidy and interest rate subsidy from 30% to 85%, depending on the beneficiary’s income. Upon joining the Program, an advance payment of 40% of the application budget is provided, while the loan is granted with:

• Repayment options over 4, 5, or 6 years, with or without a guarantor, without property registration.
• Option to repay the loan immediately without incurring additional charges.
• Payment of suppliers through the bank without the involvement of the beneficiary.

According to data provided by the president of ETEAN, 45,403 loans totaling €197.5 million have been disbursed to date through the “Saving at Home” program, while the Fund’s participation amounted to €91.8 million.