Hungary housing renovation grants reach HUF 5m per flat, November 2026
Hungary launched two renovation programmes with grants of up to HUF 5m per flat covering 30-50% of cost, aimed at 60,000 dwellings by 2030.
The facts
- The Hungarian government announced two renovation programmes, the Wekerle Panel Program and the Wekerle Társasházi Program, in Government Resolution 1359/2026, published in the official gazette on 3 November 2026.
- The grant is capped at HUF 5m per dwelling in conventionally built condominiums and at HUF 4m per dwelling in prefabricated panel buildings.
- The non-repayable share of the cost is set at a minimum of 30% and a maximum of 50%.
- The target is at least 60,000 panel and condominium dwellings by 2030, funded from the KEHOP Plusz programme and from emissions-trading quota revenue, and delivered through Magyar Fejlesztési Bank and partner financial institutions.
- The resolution sets three dates: a proposal to amend the KEHOP Plusz development framework by 30 November 2026, the calls for applications and a pre-qualification system for designers and contractors by 15 December 2026, and a low-bureaucracy application procedure by 28 February 2027.
What it means for your money
- The grant lands on running costs, not on the purchase price. A renovated panel flat carries lower energy bills, which supports the rent it can ask.
- An owner already holding a panel flat can have 30-50% of the work covered up to HUF 4m, but the grant runs through the condominium association, so the decision is not the individual owner's alone.
- Glopra's data put Hungary's effective tax on rental income at 13.5%, so any rent uplift after renovation is taxed at that rate; freehold is open to foreign buyers, though non-EU buyers need a permit.
What to watch
- The resolution names no total budget in forint, so how many of the 60,000 dwellings are actually funded is open; the eligibility rules, energy thresholds and list of eligible works arrive with the calls for applications due by 15 December 2026.
- A separate government decree in the same gazette issue amends the Wekerle Plusz home-purchase loan. Its operative text is not displayed in the national legal database, and part of it takes effect on 16 November 2026.
Sources: Nemzeti Jogszabalytar https://njt.jog.gov.hu/jogszabaly/2026-1359-30-22