Social funds for energy management - Fonds sociaux d'aide aux travaux de maîtrise de l’énergie (FSATME)

There are funds in some departments in France to bring financial support to families in need for renovation work as an attempt to develop simple financial schemes for small yet essential reparations.

In the example of Hérault, households in need are detected by social workers of the departmental agency of Pignan-Mèze. These social advisors go and visit them to assess the households' situation, then present the corresponding files in a monthly technical comittee (composed by: the departmental agency, a member of the commercial partner Gefosat - in charge of the technical advices, a jurist in a tenants defense association, etc). Afterwards households receive a second visit destined to advising on energy. Gefosat presents reports and recommendations to the technical committee and it is decided which measures to take (buying small equipment, estimation of the cost of renovation work, etc). Financial schemes are discussed with the tenants or owners.

Funds are given directly to Gefosat, not the household. At the end of the construction, Gefosat inspects what has been done and a monthly follow-up is done in technical comittee.

There might be three categories of help:

• funding of urgent reparations (water leakage, broken windows,etc).
• buying small equipment to the household's disposition.
• funding for renovation work for the landlord (30% maximum, limited to 1000€) or the tenant (3000€ maximum).