Current issues
Buildings in the EU are responsible for about 40% of energy consumption and over 1/3 of CO2 emissions. 75% of the building stock in the EU is energy inefficient, and 97% of the building stock is in need of renovation.
Energy poverty: EU average 10,6% (27% in Brussels) has considerably increased in the last years. Studies show a clear relationship between quality of dwelling, energy poverty, and health.
EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD): -60% emissions by 2030, zero-emission building stock by 2050.
Existing public models to support energy renovation do not reach the poorest owners. The danger is that the most vulnerable households will be forced out of their homes as they face increasing energy prices and financial sanctions by the authorities meant to incentivise renovation, and that European cities will be confronted with a wave of “renovictions” (in other words, widespread eviction of low-income households who cannot afford renovation) and “green gentrification”. Not only the energy efficiency targets will not be met in time, but the housing crisis and social inequalities will be further increased.
Solution provided by the Upcycling Trust
The Upcycling Trust is an innovative model combining legal, organisational, technical, and financial measures to help homeowners achieve the energy efficiency renovation of residential buildings while creating permanently affordable housing.
The Upcycling Trust model helps to achieve simultaneously the building energy efficiency targets and sustainability goals for the built and natural environments while tackling the affordable housing crisis by supporting and safeguarding vulnerable homeowners and creating new permanently affordable homes. It provides a structural solution to bridge the current investment gap in both energy renovation and affordable and social housing by multiplying the effect of a single investment.
In practice, the model delivers renovation in which the quality of homes are increased to meet new sustainability requirements, while in turn owners regain housing security, in exchange for land and homes integrating the Community Land Trust model in order to provide permanently affordable housing.
The Upcycling Trust model applies a systematic combination of (1) a circular approach to energy renovation in which the quality of homes are increased to meet new sustainability requirements and (2) the decommodification (taking housing off the market so that it cannot be sold at a profit) of the renovated housing thanks to which owners regain housing security.
The application of circular renovation methods allows to focus on parts of the built environment which are the most challenging to renovate in a cost-effective way (such as homes in poor condition occupied by their poor owners; large condominiums in poor condition; social housing that needs renovation and is put on the market because the housing agencies do not have the means to renovate; and long-term vacant buildings).
The decommodification via a hybrid form of ownership (using tools such as the Community Land Trust or Organisme de Foncier Solidaire) ensures housing security in exchange for land and homes enlisting themselves into the model based on capped pricing mechanisms and social criteria for sale or rental. This safeguards renovated homes from the increasing market pressures (such as land speculation) affecting conventional housing developments, therefore avoiding the displacement of residents.
The combination of these two models ensure that the positive social and environmental impact of energy renovation investments are effectively benefitting the residents and guarantee lasting sustainability and housing security for the future generations.
The method is easily applicable to any local context in complement to the tools of local and regional authorities’ urban strategies, in order to accelerate the just urban transition and provide affordable and social housing.
Implementation
The Upcycling Trust method is currently being implemented in pilot homes in 5 cities (Lille, Brussels, Ghent, Rennes, Cork) across Europe in close partnership between local Community Land Trusts or Organismes de Foncier Solidaire (France) and local and regional authorities (City of Lille, Lille Metropole, Lille Metropole Habitat, City of Rennes, Cork City Council) as well as relevant non-governmental stakeholders (Habiter 2030 (Lille), Self Organised Architecture (Ireland), Réseau Habitat (Brussels), Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Labland (Ghent), Pandschap (Ghent)). It is part of a project financed by the Interreg North-West Europe programme of the EU.