In short: who funds it and what is open now
In the city of Barcelona, housing refurbishment grants are awarded by the Consorci de l'Habitatge de Barcelona, a joint body of the City Council and the Generalitat. Applications go through the Oficina de Rehabilitació Municipal (ORM) and the City Council's Oficina Virtual de Tràmits. You can apply yourself with idCAT Mòbil, Cl@ve or a digital certificate, or in person at the ORM.
The autumn 2026 news is not good. The «Ajuts a la rehabilitació de l'habitatge» line, up to €6,000 for windows, insulation and heating or cooling in the flat you live in, took applications until 30 June 2026, and works had to be finished by that date too. If you are still planning your renovation, do not count on it.
Two routes remain open. One: renovating a flat you place in the Borsa d'Habitatge de Lloguer de Barcelona, the city's affordable rental pool, with up to €30,000 and applications until 30 November 2026. The other: IRPF income tax deductions for energy-efficiency works, claimed in your annual return with no competition for a limited budget.
Which route fits your case
Renovating for the Borsa. According to habitatge.barcelona for 2026, the grant covers 100% of the works, up to €30,000 per flat including VAT, with a €500 minimum. Works must improve habitability: installations, mobility inside the flat, energy efficiency. The condition is firm: a lease through the Borsa for one year, extendable up to five years for an individual owner or seven for a company. Works already under way qualify, as do works done in the 12 months before joining, backed by invoices. Everything must be finished by 30 October 2027. Example: an inherited flat in Sant Antoni with old wiring and a bathroom to redo, which you wanted to let long term anyway.
IRPF deductions. According to the Agencia Tributaria: 20% on up to €5,000 if the works cut heating and cooling demand by at least 7%; 40% on up to €7,500 if they cut non-renewable primary energy use by 30% or bring the flat to an A or B rating. Works from 6 October 2021 to 31 December 2026 count; Royal Decree-law 7/2026 extended these deductions to the end of 2026. They apply to your main home and to a flat you let. Example: new windows and interior wall insulation in a flat in Gràcia.
If your flat is outside Barcelona city, say in Castelldefels, the Consorci schemes do not apply. Check the grants section of habitatge.gencat.cat (Agència de l'Habitatge de Catalunya) and your own town hall; the IRPF deductions apply across Spain.
What to prepare and who does it
For the Borsa renovation. You provide: the registration and technical report application (imprès 1h), DNI or NIE of every owner, a recent nota simple from the Land Registry, and the responsible declaration (imprès D) covering tax status, other grants and the fact that you have applied for a works permit. The contractor provides an itemised quote plus the technician's fees. The technician writes a technical report (memòria tècnica) if the job needs neither a project nor a licence. The Consorci checks the permit and fee payment itself. Note: the budget declared for the ICIO construction tax must match the contractor's price, and it caps the grant.
For the IRPF deduction. A technician issues an energy performance certificate before the works start and another after they finish; the second one is registered with ICAEN. Keep the contractor's invoices and proof of payment. Without the before certificate you cannot prove the improvement, and it cannot be produced after the fact.
Step by step: how to apply
Borsa. First book an appointment at your district Oficina de l'Habitatge and discuss placing the flat in the Borsa: grant applications are forwarded by the Departament d'Ús Digne de l'Habitatge, so nothing moves without the Borsa's agreement. Then file the application and documents online, via «Tramitació en línia» on the programme page, or in person at the Oficina de l'Habitatge. The Consorci issues its technical report, and only after that do you file the works start notice (imprès 2). You do the works, submit the completion notice (imprès 3) with every invoice and the final works certificate, sign the lease through the Borsa and receive a bank transfer. You can assign the grant (endòs) to your contractor, who then deducts it from your bill.
IRPF. Before certificate, works, after certificate registered with ICAEN, then the deduction in your tax return. Which year you claim it depends on the certificate date; check the Agencia Tributaria page for your deduction type.
To estimate the amount before applying, use the official IMHAB refurbishment grant simulator linked from the programme pages.
After applying: obligations and clawback risk
Your works permit must stay valid throughout; when it expires, the Consorci will ask you to prove completion, and if you do not reply it closes the file as withdrawn. Only invoices attached to the completion notice count towards the grant.
With the Borsa the conditions last for years. If the tenant ends the lease in the first three years, you must sign a new one through the Borsa or repay the grant. If you take the flat back for your own use before five years (seven for a company), you repay a proportional share. If the lease is not signed within six months of the decision for reasons on your side, the Consorci can revoke the grant.
If documents are missing you will get a formal request with a deadline; answer on time or the application is treated as withdrawn.
Common mistakes
Planning the job around a scheme that has already closed. Before getting quotes, check whether the programme page says «Oberta» (open) or «Tancada» (closed).
Not ordering the energy certificate before starting. For the IRPF deduction that is money lost with no way back.
Under-declaring the budget to pay less ICIO. The grant is calculated on that figure, so what you save in tax you lose in grant.
Paying without invoices, or with invoices that do not itemise the work. Only proper itemised invoices count.
Assuming a former holiday let qualifies. Flats placed in the Borsa under a deal to reduce a tourist-use fine are excluded.
Before you apply
Terms and deadlines change every year, so check the current programme page on habitatge.barcelona and the deduction page on the Agencia Tributaria site before applying. If you would rather not assemble the file yourself, BCN YARD can handle it alongside the renovation.