The renovation subsidy is funding from the State that may be obtained to finance a housing renovation. This subsidy is granted for certain work to improve the habitability, hygiene and safety of existing housing.

Housing for which a renovation subsidy is sought must comply with legally required health and safety standards.

The renovation subsidy corresponds to a percentage of the cost of the work undertaken, which varies depending on the recipient's income and family situation.

 

The eTracking function for hardcopy (paper) forms is a feature of this process. This feature enables users to stay informed about the advancement of their applications by email and/or by SMS.

Who is concerned

A person can benefit from this subsidy if they:

• are authorised to legally reside in Luxembourg, are domiciled there and effectively live there;
• are the owner of the dwelling;
• live in the dwelling as their principal, permanent residence;
• are neither the owner nor usufructuary of another residence, whether in Luxembourg or abroad.

Prerequisites

Age of the building

The work must be carried out in buildings first occupied more than 15 years ago. However, the applicant for the subsidy does not have to be the first occupant.

If the work relates to the reduction of radon, the aid is granted only for buildings completed before 1 March 1994.

Increasing a building's surface area

In the event of enlargement of existing rooms or creation of new rooms, the age of the building is not taken into account.

Only the criteria of usable floor space must be followed:

• single-family house: between at least 65 m² and 140 m² maximum;
• flat: between at least 45 and 120 m² maximum.

These floor spaces may be increased by:

• 20 m² for each dependent child of the applicant starting from the third;
• 20 m² for any 1st degree ascendant of the applicant and any disabled person living in the beneficiary's home, starting from the fifth person residing there, provided this person is not themselves the owner of a dwelling.

Lofts or spaces for the installation of lofts are taken into account in the calculation of the usable floor space, but only to the extent that:

• the minimum height of the loft is at least 2 meters, and;
• the loft has a normal access and a total window area exceeding 0.375 m².

Usable floor space does not include:

• cellars;
• attics;
• garages;
• all common areas in condominiums.

Workshops, commercial areas and other professional premises are excluded up to a maximum of 20 m². Thus, if these elements exceed 20 m², they can be taken into account in the usable floor space (a check is carried out individually for each element).

If the maximum usable floor space is exceeded, the applicant may request a re-examination of the usable floor space for a period of one year from the notification of the decision to exceed the usable floor space.

For buildings constructed prior to 10 September 1944, there are no floor space conditions.

It should be noted that no transformation whose purpose is to exceed the limit for usable floor space can be made for 10 years starting from the first occupancy of the housing, or the subsidy will have to be repaid.

Work that may be covered by the subsidy

Work on the following elements can be covered by the subsidy:

• roof covering, roof structure or zinc plating;
• drying out of damp walls;
• creating a crawlspace or equivalent insulation;
• connections to the sewer or waste-water drainage system;
• adding bathrooms and toilets, including a septic tank;
• installing water and gas pipes, and electric cabling;
• installing or renovating central heating;
• installing or replacing shutters;
• adding or extending rooms;
• façade renovations using traditional methods;
• remediation of houses with significant exposure to radon (radioactive gas).

Ongoing maintenance and improvements do not qualify for the subsidy.

If the works carried out are likely to benefit from a subsidy for the promotion of the rational use of energy and the development of renewable energies (PRIMe House), the financial aid for the renovation of an old housing will not be granted.

Deadlines

The request for financial aid must be returned no later than one year after the date of completion of the work.

How to proceed

Criteria used to calculate the renovation subsidy

The renovation subsidy will correspond to a maximum 30 % of the total amount of invoices for renovation work.

It may not be greater than EUR 10,000 per beneficiary. If the home is sold, the subsidy need not be repaid.

Consideration of family status

In order to determine the subsidy, the family situation on the start date of the renovation work is taken into account.

If a child is born in the year following that date, the subsidy may be re-evaluated on the basis of this change in family status provided that the child is in the applicant's care. This is the case for children:  

• for whom a family allowance is granted, who live together with the applicant in subsidized housing and are declared there;
• for whom a family allowance is no longer paid but which are co-affiliated with the applicant's health insurance.

Consideration of income

The income to be taken into account is the taxable income, plus all other income, including non-taxable income, available to the applicant and any other person living with him in the dwelling. The income of descendants and forebears, or in-laws of the applicant up to the 2^nd degree are not counted.

The following incomes are not taken into account:

• family benefits;
• state financial aid for higher education;
• allowances for severely disabled people;
• orphan's pensions;
• long-term care insurance payments.

Taxable income is either:

• the average of the income for the 3 taxation years preceding the date of commencement of the renovation work, if the applicant actually received income during those 3 years. Internship periods are excluded;
• income for the tax year immediately preceding the start date of the works;
• income for the year in which the renovation work begins, if:
  • the applicant had no income during the year preceding the commencement of the improvement works, or;
  • the applicant's income decreased by more than 10 % compared to the previous year.

If the applicant is taxed jointly, and the income to be taken into account also includes any net income from paid employment held by the spouse or partner, the latter income, reduced to the base index 100 of the cost-of-living index, is reduced by up to EUR 1,250. The spouse or partner must be personally affiliated to a pension plan.

This reduction is automatically applied to the income of a household exercising an agricultural, commercial or skilled craft activity, provided that the spouse or civil partner is enrolled in a personal pension plan.

Where the spouses or partners have been married or in a civil partnership for less than 3 years on the start date of the works, only the income of one of the spouses or civil partners is taken into account when calculating the subsidy. The income taken into account is the highest of the 2. In this case, the income reduction of EUR 1,250 mentioned above is not applicable.

In the case of joint taxation of spouses or partners, only the income of one of the spouses or partners is considered, provided that the other spouse or partner has definitively ceased any paid employment in the 2 years following the occupation of the dwelling for which aid has been requested.

If a portion of the total income includes an amount originating from remunerated work that was not engaged in throughout the entire tax year, such income is extrapolated over the whole year.

Criteria and procedure for obtaining aid to improve old housing

The application is made using the individual housing aid application form.

It must be completed and signed by the applicant, then sent to the Single point of contact for housing assistance (Guichet unique des aides au logement), with the required documentation.

Each page of the form must be signed separately.

The following must be included with the application:

• for the applicant and any other person living in the dwelling: a copy of the certificate of registration or the permanent residence permit (for nationals of an EU Member State) and/or a copy of the residence permit or permanent residence permit or passport with residence permit (for nationals of a third country);
• for the applicant and the applicant's spouse: payslips for the 3 years preceding the start date of the improvement work;
• a copy of the notarised property deed for the land or building, dated and signed by the notary;
• a certificate documenting the year of construction of the housing;
• copies of invoices relating to the improvement project.

Applications for the renovation subsidy for remedial work on homes with significant exposure to radon must include the following documents:

• a certificate from the Ministry of Health's Radiation Protection Division certifying that prior to the work radon levels were higher than 150 Bq/m³;
• a second certificate from the Radiation Protection Division certifying that radon levels have decreased to below 150 Bq/m³ or decreased by more than 70 % as compared with initial levels.

The beneficiary of the aid must also immediately inform the administration of any change likely to affect the granting, maintenance, modification, or elimination of the aid, or else risk having to retroactively reimburse the aid.

Payment of the aid to renovate old housing

The subsidy may be paid in instalments and may cover more than one dwelling. Each instalment of the renovation subsidy is calculated on the basis of the applicant's income and family status, in accordance with the relevant tables, on the start date of the renovation project.

If the beneficiary has a mortgage, the subsidy is paid directly into the beneficiary's mortgage account. Otherwise, it is paid over the course of the project upon presentation of the related invoices.

If there are several beneficiaries of the aid, each installment is paid proportionately to the share of each beneficiary.

If the dwelling belongs to several co-owners, the payment is made to one of the co-owners, unless they have appointed a common agent.

Refusal of subsidy

The renovation subsidy will be denied if the building is less than 15 years old. An exception is made in the case of an increase in living space or creation of new rooms, in which case the age of the building is not taken into account.

In the case of work relating to radon mitigation, the subsidy will be denied if the building was completed after 1 March 1994.

No renovation subsidy will be granted if the total amount of the subsidy is less than EUR 125.

If the beneficiary has already obtained the maximum amount of EUR 10,000 in renovation subsidies, no further subsidy will be granted.

If the home is sold, the subsidy need not be repaid.

Reimbursement of the subsidy

A person who has benefited from an improvement subsidy when they should not have been is obliged to reimburse it in its entirety. This reimbursement cannot be waived.

Similarly, applicants who have made an inaccurate or incomplete declaration in order to receive the subsidy must return the subsidy.  

The beneficiary of the aid must also immediately inform the administration of any change likely to affect the granting, maintenance, modification, or elimination of the aid, or else risk having to retroactively reimburse the aid.

Combining the renovation subsidy with other aid

Financial aid from the State for the renovation of old housing may be combined with:

• the purchase subsidy;
• the additional subsidy for architect or construction engineer fees;
• the savings subsidy;
• the contribution to costs of special renovations to make a dwelling accessible to disabled persons;
• interest relief;
• the interest subsidy.

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