On 29 September, the Science and Technology Park of the University of Girona hosted the GiDomus event "Addressing the Challenge of Energy Renovation in Residential Buildings", a gathering that brought together institutional representatives, local councils, property managers and industry professionals to discuss the main challenges of energy renovation.
The event provided an opportunity to share experiences and highlight the difficulties faced by homeowners' associations when renovating their buildings, as well as the importance of collaboration between public authorities and professionals in facilitating these processes.
GiDomus is now launching a second phase of territorial expansion, extending its services to Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà and La Selva, thus expanding its coverage across the Girona region. This new phase also includes the launch of new municipal pilot projects targeting 150 multi-family residential buildings across 16 municipalities, with the aim of reaching homeowners' associations directly and helping them move from initial interest to concrete action.
The pilot projects are being implemented in collaboration with local councils and property managers, two key stakeholders in identifying buildings, engaging with homeowners' associations and supporting them throughout the process. The first visits are already being scheduled in different areas of the region: 45 multi-family residential buildings will participate in Baix Empordà alone, and 30 in Alt Empordà.
The Second Vice-President of the Girona Provincial Council, Gemma Geis, highlighted the importance of accelerating the renovation of residential buildings to adapt them to the effects of climate change. In this regard, she acknowledged the role of GiDomus and stressed the urgency of implementing measures that will help create more energy-efficient buildings. "We have a lot of work to do, and we are already behind schedule," she stated, emphasising the need to transform the residential building stock.
Similarly, the Director General for Housing of the Government of Catalonia, Jordi Mas, welcomed the initiative for its ability to raise public awareness of the need to adapt homes to climate change. Mas highlighted that energy renovation "ultimately allows us to save on electricity and gas bills and, above all, improves comfort in our homes." He also emphasised the support the project receives from public authorities and the private sector.
From an institutional perspective, Agnès Gasull, Third Vice-President and Regional Councillor for Sustainability and Climate Action at the Baix Empordà County Council, explained how collaboration with GiDomus is helping to provide support to homeowners' associations seeking to renovate their buildings.
Gasull pointed out that, although there is a genuine need to improve the energy efficiency of homes, many homeowners' associations face difficulties in dealing with administrative procedures, finding qualified professionals and covering the initial costs of renovation work. In this regard, she highlighted the importance of the free advisory service and public funding schemes in making renovations more accessible.
"We currently have 45 homeowners' associations that are already carrying out these initial environmental and energy audits to assess the condition of their buildings," Gasull explained. The initiatives cover municipalities such as Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Palamós, Sant Antoni de Calonge, Begur and La Bisbal d'Empordà. The regional councillor also expressed the intention to extend this experience to smaller municipalities, building on the lessons learned from those that have already begun the process.
Difficulties in reaching agreements among property owners, bureaucracy and financing were among the main challenges identified during the event. Jordi Matavacas, Housing Officer at L'Escala Town Council, stressed the need for joint efforts between the public and private sectors to overcome these barriers. As he explained, "ultimately, we all need to work together," identifying agreements, paperwork and financing as the most challenging aspects of renovation processes.
For his part, Josep Anton Massagué, Energy Transition Officer at Figueres Town Council, argued that public authorities must facilitate renovation processes, particularly when homeowners' associations have already decided to make a significant financial investment.
"Public authorities cannot make a renovation process like this even more complicated," he stated. Massagué emphasised the need to simplify documentation and reduce the time required to obtain building permits, especially when renovation projects are linked to subsidies with specific deadlines.
From the perspective of property managers, Bernat Parès, Founding Partner and Technical Advisor at DOMUS Grup, highlighted the support provided by GiDomus in technical matters and grant management. Parès noted that this assistance "makes things much easier and gives you greater confidence when presenting these improvement proposals to homeowners' associations," reinforcing the project's role as a valuable resource for industry professionals.
The various contributions highlighted that the energy renovation of buildings requires the joint involvement of public authorities, local councils, industry professionals and homeowners' associations.
The new phase of GiDomus aims to strengthen this collaboration by expanding the geographical coverage of its services and promoting new municipal pilot projects, with the objective of overcoming the technical, administrative and financial barriers that continue to hinder renovation efforts.
The event demonstrated the importance of bringing available resources closer to the public and continuing to work towards making improvements in home energy efficiency increasingly accessible throughout the Girona region.