Creating Integrated Home Renovation Services for Condominium Associations: The CondoReno Final Report

After four years of collaboration, testing and co-creation, the LIFE CondoReno project brings together its main findings, tools and recommendations in its Final Report: “Creating Integrated Home Renovation Services for Condominium Associations.”

Across Europe, renovating multi-apartment buildings owned by multiple private homeowners remains a major challenge. While improving the energy performance of these buildings is essential to Europe’s energy transition, condominium associations face a combination of barriers that make renovation particularly difficult: complex collective decision-making, different financial capacities among co-owners, limited technical knowledge and fragmented coordination between the many professionals and organisations involved.

Between 2022 and 2026, CondoReno addressed these challenges by developing and testing Integrated Home Renovation Services (IHRS), also known as One-Stop Shops. These services provide condominium associations with coordinated support throughout the renovation journey, combining technical guidance, financial advice, stakeholder coordination and process support. Rather than focusing only on theoretical solutions, CondoReno tested different approaches in real-life settings in Flanders and the Netherlands.

From tools to real-life renovation processes

The Final Report brings together the project’s main results and translates four years of experience into practical resources for condominium associations, IHRS providers, SMEs and market actors, policymakers and organisations seeking to establish or scale integrated renovation services.

A central part of this work was the implementation of eight pilot projects in Belgium and the Netherlands, covering buildings ranging from small and medium-sized condominiums to large and highly complex apartment buildings. The pilots provided real-life environments in which CondoReno could test renovation roadmaps, financial tools, stakeholder engagement approaches and different IHRS business models.

The experience of these pilots underlined an important point: successful condominium renovation is not simply a technical challenge. Even when technical solutions exist, projects can be delayed by lengthy decision-making processes, governance and legal constraints, financial uncertainty, affordability concerns and changes among owners and stakeholders.

The role of IHRS is therefore broader than organising renovation works. By providing a structured process and a trusted point of contact, they can help condominium associations move from initial awareness towards informed collective decisions and investment-ready renovation projects.

Five lessons from four years of CondoReno

The Final Report identifies five key lessons emerging from the project:

First, renovation is primarily a decision-making challenge. Collective decision-making in condominium associations can take many years, meaning that technical solutions alone are not enough.

Second, process coaching is essential. Dedicated professionals are needed to guide co-owners, manage the social dynamics of the process and help build consensus.

Third, financial clarity drives action. For homeowners, the key question is often not simply the total investment required, but what renovation means for their monthly housing costs. Tools based on Total Cost of Ownership can help translate complex investment decisions into understandable financial scenarios.

Fourth, tools are necessary, but greater standardisation is needed. Renovation roadmaps, financial calculation tools and digital platforms can significantly improve coordination and decision-making, but their wider replication would benefit from greater harmonisation.

Finally, strong ecosystems are required to scale renovation. Successful IHRS depend on collaboration between public authorities, market actors, financial institutions, intermediaries and condominium associations, supported by clear governance and long-term support mechanisms.

Building the ecosystem for renovation at scale

CondoReno therefore looked beyond individual buildings. The project explored how viable IHRS business models can be created, how the renovation supply side can be strengthened, how digital platforms can improve coordination and data management, and how financing and guarantee mechanisms could reduce risks for homeowners and investors.

It also examined both public-led and market-driven IHRS models. The project evaluation found that both approaches can support condominium renovation when they are embedded in a supportive ecosystem and backed by sustainable funding and business models. At the same time, long-term financing, homeowner affordability, legal and governance barriers and the resources required for intensive process support remain important challenges.

Co-creation was another central component of the CondoReno approach. National Advisory Boards in Flanders and the Netherlands and an International Advisory Board brought together public authorities, financial actors, renovation professionals, homeowner organisations and other stakeholders to review tools and methodologies and assess their relevance and transferability.

From local pilots to European replication

The project’s activities extended well beyond the pilot buildings. CondoReno directly engaged more than 6,000 people, reached more than 10,000 people overall, actively involved over 500 stakeholders, implemented eight pilot projects, and reported four operational and two tested IHRS. The consortium also participated in 36 conferences and delivered 50 workshops, including ten international workshops across Europe.

These activities helped transform the project from a set of local experiments into a wider learning process on how integrated renovation services can be created, improved and replicated.

The Final Report brings this knowledge together in one publication, providing access to the tools, methodologies and lessons developed throughout CondoReno. Its central message is clear: accelerating the renovation of condominium buildings requires more than better technologies. It requires integrated services capable of connecting people, finance, technical expertise, and decision-making throughout the entire renovation journey.

By bringing these elements together, CondoReno provides a practical foundation for the next generation of Integrated Home Renovation Services and for scaling high-quality, energy-efficient condominium renovation across Europe.