Most would spend the state aid on renovation and insulation

The Home Renovation Program allows for up to HUF 3 million in non-refundable state support if 50% equity is provided by the residents. The own contribution can be financed by loans. The joint survey of GKI and Masterplast aimed to find an answer to what specific tasks are planned to be implemented by those intending to participate in the program. A third of the respondents would renovate the interiors and the bathroom, more than a quarter would modernize the heating system and replace windows and doors. For those living in a family house, the insulation and renovation of the roof is also extremely important.

The population surveys of GKI, which aim to map the plans, intentions and prospects of housing renovation and modernization, have been conducted with the support of Masterplast Nyrt from January 2020. The sample of the population surveyed in the present survey is representative of 1,000 people by gender, age, place of residence, and education.

The Home Renovation Program, announced last October and entered into force in January this year, has generated huge interest. The joint survey by GKI and Masterplast aimed to estimate what specific tasks those wishing to participate in the program are expected to carry out with state support in the next two years.

Two of the most popular goals are to renovate the bathroom and the indoor spaces (the latter means the replacement, renovation, painting and wallpapering of the interior wall, floor and ceiling coverings). Slightly more than a quarter of the survey respondents are thinking about replacing external windows and upgrading their heating system. To all intents and purposes, one in five respondents would like to have thermal insulation and roof renovation work done. With the exception of the latter, the works mentioned above are popular among the residents regardless the type of their property. However, there are differences in the case of renovation and modernization plans according to the property in which the given household lives. For those living in detached houses, in addition to the above-mentioned works, the construction and renovation of the fence (mentioned by 26%), the renovation and construction of the terrace, balcony, canopy and the installation of solar or solar collector systems (17-17%) are considerably above the average. In addition, 16% of them wish to build a garage or renovate the existing one. Among the residents of brick-built condominiums, the frequency of mentioning the installation or replacement of air conditioners, shading works, and sound and waterproofing tasks is remarkably high (24, 21 and 14%). Carrying out shading works is also much more popular among the residents of panel flats than the average (13%).

People from the capital plan to only carry out sound and waterproofing work at a much higher rate compared to the national average. In the case of residents in large cities, the renovation of indoor spaces is a matter of priority, and every second respondent would like to carry out such work. Small towns are more active than the national average in the case of water, gas, electricity internal networks, heating system and chimney replacement, thermal insulation and fence-related works. Thermal insulation, replacement of external windows and roof renovation and insulation are extremely popular in the villages.

In the case of the installation and replacement of air conditioners, solar collectors and solar systems, and the construction of floor coverings, the activity of those with the highest income is remarkably high, indicating that the implementation of these works still falls within the luxury category.