Grants from New Green Savings (Nová zelená úsporám, NZÚ, the Czech state subsidy for energy-saving home renovations) are normally paid only after the work is finished and documented. So you pay for the insulation, windows, heat pump or solar panels first, and most households do that with a mortgage or a renovation loan.
The exception is the Oprav dům po babičce (“Fix up grandma's house”) sub-programme, where the fund pays part of the grant in advance. Even there you have to bridge the rest of the costs, and the rest of the grant, until final settlement.
The combination that works: a loan for the full amount, drawn against invoices, and once the grant arrives, an extra payment on the part of the principal the law lets you repay free of charge. On a CZK 1.8 million loan over 25 years at 5.00 %, repaying a CZK 600,000 grant brings the payment down from CZK 10,523 to CZK 6,941.
Support per measure, deadlines and conditions are set by the current call of the State Environmental Fund (Státní fond životního prostředí, SFŽP). They change, so we do not quote them here; check the programme website before you apply.
How do you pay for insulation before the New Green Savings grant arrives?
Bringing a family house up to the standard NZÚ supports can easily cost hundreds of thousands, or a few million, koruna. The grant covers only part of it and arrives late. First the work, then invoices, photos and expert reports, then the fund's check, and only after that the payment. The tradespeople want their money in the meantime.
You can bridge the gap in four ways:
- A mortgage or purpose loan secured by the property: the lowest rate, but it needs a valuation and registration of the lien in the land registry (vklad, CZK 2,000). Worth it for larger sums or together with buying the house.
- An unsecured renovation loan (úvěr na rekonstrukci): faster and with no valuation, but at a higher rate and with a lower maximum, which depends on the bank.
- A building savings loan (stavební spoření): suits smaller measures. Our article Building savings and a mortgage shows how to combine it with a mortgage.
- Your own cash: the cheapest option, if you have it and do not need it as a reserve.
If you are buying an older house and renovating it straight away, one mortgage for both the purchase and the work is the most efficient route. The LTV limit of 80 % (90 % for applicants under 36) is calculated from the valuation, and some banks will value the house as it will be after the renovation, which leaves more room for the loan.
From the energy report to the extra payment
It starts with an energy specialist. For insulation and full renovations the fund wants an expert report or project documentation, and the bank will use the same papers as your budget. With those in hand, ask for loan pre-approval (předschválení). The bank looks at your income and the house; pre-approval takes days and full approval usually 2–4 weeks from complete documents.
Next comes the grant application, filed online through the fund's portal. Whether it has to go in before work starts or after, and by when, depends on the current call, so check that before you sign the construction contract (smlouva o dílo). Then you sign the loan agreement. For a renovation the bank pays out gradually against invoices or construction contracts, and may release part in advance for materials.
During the work, keep invoices, proof of payment by bank transfer and photos. A heat pump or PV system has to come from the programme's List of Products and Technologies. The grant then lands in your account, and you send it to the bank as an extra payment at a time when that is free of charge (see the example below).
It often takes months between the application and the money arriving. Size the loan for the full cost, not the cost minus the expected grant.
A CZK 1.8 million renovation, month by month
Months 1–12: the payment is CZK 10,523. Interest on the part the grant will cover (CZK 600,000) comes to roughly CZK 30,000 for the year, which is the price of pre-financing.
Just before the first anniversary: the balance is CZK 1,762,886 and the CZK 600,000 grant arrives. Up to 25 % of the original loan amount a year can be repaid free of charge, here CZK 450,000. On the remaining CZK 150,000 the bank may charge at most 0.25 % for each started year until the end of the fixation, max. 1 % in total, so no more than CZK 1,500. Or you send the rest free of charge in the month before the second anniversary.
After the payment: the balance is CZK 1,162,886 and, keeping the original end date, the new payment is CZK 6,941. Total interest comes to CZK 925,347 instead of CZK 1,356,786 without the extra payment.
Before signing, ask whether the bank will let you repay the grant free of charge even above the 25 % on an energy-saving loan. Some banks will write it into the contract if asked. If you keep the payment the same and shorten the term instead, you save even more interest.
Green mortgages and the energy certificate
A renovation can also lower your rate. Many banks offer “green” mortgages (zelená hypotéka) or a rate discount for properties in a good energy class, or for loans used to save energy. What counts is the energy performance certificate (průkaz energetické náročnosti budovy, PENB): the bank wants class A or B, or a provable improvement after the renovation backed by an expert report.
In practice, have an energy specialist issue a PENB once the work is done and show it to the bank at the next opportunity, at refixing or when you arrange the extra payment. Our article on green mortgages covers the discount conditions. For scale: on a CZK 1.8 million loan over 25 years, each tenth of a percentage point is worth roughly CZK 100 a month.
What does the bank want and what does the fund want?
| Document | Bank | Fund (NZÚ) |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of income (employer's confirmation / tax return) | yes | no |
| Title sheet (list vlastnictví) | yes | yes (ownership of the house) |
| Budget and construction contracts | yes, as the basis for drawdown | yes, as the basis for the amount of support |
| Expert report / energy specialist's design | sometimes (for green products) | yes for insulation and full renovations |
| Building permit or notification (stavební povolení / ohlášení) | if the work requires it | if the work requires it |
| Property valuation | yes for a secured loan | no |
| Invoices and proof of payment | yes, for drawdown | yes, for payout |
| Property insurance with assignment (vinkulace) | yes for a secured loan | no |
Have everything invoiced in the same name and pay by transfer from the account the loan is drawn into. One set of documents then serves both the bank and the fund.
Keep the energy assessment and the new energy performance certificate (PENB) after the grant is paid. The bank uses them to decide whether your loan qualifies for a green mortgage with a rate discount.
Five mistakes that cost you the grant or money
- A loan for “costs minus grant” only. If the grant is late, there is no money for the tradespeople, and topping up with a consumer loan is expensive.
- Starting work against the rules of the call. If the call requires the application before work begins, a late application loses you the grant.
- Equipment that is not on the list of supported products. A cheaper heat pump that is not listed will not get the grant.
- Paying in cash or without a receipt. Both the fund and the bank want payments they can verify.
- The extra payment at the wrong time. Outside the month before the contract anniversary, or above 25 % of the original loan amount, the bank may charge a fee, so plan the grant payout and the extra payment around the anniversary date.
Run a payment calculation for your renovation loan before you sign the contract with the builder. Financing repairs more generally is covered in our article Mortgage for renovation.
Sources
- New Green Savings (Nová zelená úsporám) – current calls, conditions and List of Products and Technologies (SFŽP)
- Act No. 257/2016 Coll., on consumer credit, as amended with effect from 1 Sept 2024 (early repayment, extra payments)
- ČNB – LTV limit for loans secured by residential property
- ČBA Hypomonitor – average rate on new mortgages, August 2026