Fico: State Announces First Round of Applications for Insulation Subsidy

Bratislava, February 16 (TASR) – Within a month the first 1,000 applicants will be able to submit official requests for subsidies for insulating their own houses, with the state announcing the first round of applications at a press conference at the Transport, Construction and Regional Development Ministry in Bratislava on Tuesday.

This subsidy is one of the measures stemming from the second social package. “I’m very glad that we’ve been able to reserve €30 million for this measure and that we’ve already received 4,000 applications,” said Prime Minister Robert Fico at the press conference.

“We’d like to announce the first round of applications today [Tuesday] and to earmark the amount needed for the first 1,000 applicants. We have to announce this today because people need to prepare to sign up for this project and to acquire the essential documents. We’ll start accepting the applications as of March 16. We expect the second round of applications to be announced in 2Q16,” explained Fico.

The state subsidy is designed to improve the energy efficiency of houses by insulating perimeter walls, roofs and internal walls that separate heated and non-heated spaces and by installing new windows and doors. Every owner of a family house in Slovakia that has been reserved solely for residential purposes for at least the past ten years will be entitled to ask for a subsidy. The total floor area mustn’t exceed 150 square metres for single-storey buildings and 250 square metres for multi-storey houses.

The state will reimburse successful applicants with up to 30 percent of the total costs up to a limit of €6,000. A further €500 could be obtained for project documentation and a certificate of energy efficiency. Even people that started insulating buildings in 2015 will be eligible to apply for the subsidy.