Fostering the Renovation of the Existing Building Stock. Operational Models and Evaluation Tools

This paper analyses the 3 main forms of regeneration incentives adopted in the European Union: that is, direct funding, tax incentives and density bonus. Nowadays (2021), density bonus is the least used among the three, as only few Member States have included it in their framework. However, this tool has already been experimented in countries outside Europe, in order to foster building stock regeneration without increases in public expenditure. This incentive consists in the attribution of reward building rights following the execution of building interventions aimed to achieve objectives defined by public policies. In the European countries where it is adopted (Italy, France), density bonus is attributed for the achievement of specific energy efficiency standards. However, the use of density bonus produces significant impacts on landscape, environment and infrastructural demand; therefore, its applicability should be opportunely evaluated. Hence, this contribution aims to outline possible evaluation tools to adopt in combination with this incentive to support the renovation of the existing building stock.