0% loans for home insulation

POORER households may be able to get help to cut energy bills through the government’s solidarité écologique programme, which includes an interest-free loan scheme to fit insulation.

The scheme is designed to help finance insulation work in households and aims to improve 300,000 homes over the next eight years.

There will be around €1.25 billion to lend to home owners in total.

However, although the loan has been announced, the details have not been revealed as the Ministère de l’Écologie, de l’Énergie, du Développement Durable says it is not yet ready to be implemented.

The scheme is only available to home owners who own and live in one house only and the building must be more than 15 years old.

The assistance is for those on low incomes (employed or self-employed), and is based on the home owner’s tax return two years before application – so for 2010 it will depend on your 2008 tax return
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The income thresholds vary depending on whether you live in Paris or the rest of France and whether you are single or in a couple.

For Paris residents, if you are single you must be on a gross income of less than €16,157 per year to apply and if you are in a couple must be earning less than €23,716 together. Outside of Paris the threshold drops to €11,187 for single home owners and €16,362 for couples.

In order to further satisfy eligibility requirements, applicants must commit to living in the property for six years after the work has been completed and the building must be over 15 years old. While there are no restrictions on who carries out the insulation, it must be a qualified artisan that quotes the work at a price of more than €1,500.

If it is less it is not considered to offer substantial benefits and savings to the home owners. The average cost of renovation is estimated between €8,000 and €12,000.

The grants will be administered by prefectures and meetings are due to be held throughout next month so that community representatives, the Caisses d’Allocations Familiales, banks and energy suppliers can discuss the roll out of the solidarité écologique.