Intended purpose: construction, renovation or reconstruction of a dwelling, modification, construction or replacement of utility systems
Preparation for payments
Read the instructions for grant payments, a sample payment form and prepare the necessary documents
Send grant payment documents and questions to the email address [email protected] or to the postal address - Sepise 7, 11415, Tallinn, Ettevõtluse ja Innovatsiooni Sihtasutus, add the keyword ‘Kodutoetus’ (‘Home grant’) to the envelope.
Activities related to construction
Activities related to construction, in terms of giving grants, are the building, expansion, reconstruction and renovation of the dwelling and modification, building or replacement of heating, electricity, gas, water and sewage systems.
Right for payments
In order to receive the right for grant payments, the financial background of the owner of the dwelling and the recipient of the grant must be in good order.
The grant cannot be used if there is a valid enforcement proceeding on the name of the beneficiary(ies) who is/are the owner(s) of the dwelling for the collection of debts, debts in the amount of more than €1500, an effective court decision for the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings or the declaration of bankruptcy (except if they have been released from fulfilment of obligations in the bankruptcy proceedings) of a natural person.
The dwelling that is the object of the grant may not be prohibited from being transferred in the land register.
The described restrictions do not apply if the owner of the dwelling is the grant beneficiary’s child up to 15 years of age.
Approval of exceptions
The allocated grant must be used for the works indicated in the application. If you want to modify the works or activities indicated in the application, you can do so if you have asked the EIS for specific permission for it. Submit an application for the permission. We will review the modifications and respond within five business days. You can find the application form here.
You can change the construction company, the quantities and specifications of construction materials, as well as the seller of construction materials or equipment indicated in the application, provided that the work indicated in the application remains the same. It is not necessary to ask the EIS's permission for this.
Eligible and non-eligible expenses
The grant can be used to buy single-use tools (brushes, masking tape, sand paper, work gloves, drill bits, etc.), sanitary equipment (bathtub, sink, shower corner, toilet bowl, faucet, hot water boiler, etc.) and lighting. It can also be used to pay for tool rental and disposal of construction waste and transportation of construction materials, on the condition that the service is provided by the seller of the materials and the service fee is indicated on the same sales invoice as the materials.
The grant may not be used for reusable tools (cordless drill, saw, cement mixer, hammer, screwdriver, etc.), excessive and extravagant items (jacuzzi, barrel sauna, etc.), household appliances and equipment (cooker, air purifier, electric radiator, fan, etc.), furniture and furniture parts (kitchen furniture, sink cabinet, bathroom furniture, mirror, sliding doors, wooden boards for building furniture, door hinges, cupboard knobs, wardrobe items, etc.) or for the purchase of interior elements (curtain rods, blinds, carpets, mirrors, etc.).
Implementation period of the supported project
You have two years to use the allocated grant and perform the construction work. The time is counted from the date the decision to allocate the grant comes into force.
Please note that if you have received the grant for the construction of a dwelling or for the reconstruction of an uninhabitable dwelling, you must build the dwelling within two years to a level of readiness that enables you to move in there with your family. If the grant amount is insufficient, self-financing must be provided.
For a valid reason, it is allowed to extend the project implementation period once for up to one year. For this, submit a free-form and digitally signed application to the EIS before two years have passed.
Reporting
Interim and final reports and photos about supported works must be submitted to the EIS.
Submit the interim report when 50% of the allocated grant amount has been paid out or half of the period for the works has passed.
Submit the final report within 30 days after the completion of all supported activities and implementation of the supported project.
In the final report, include one or two photos for each work noted in the report. The photos must be clear and give an overview of the completed works. Describing the work processes is not necessary.
Send the photos together with the report by email to [email protected]. You can send large photos in several emails (the size of one email is up to 10 MB).
Preliminary activities necessary to receive the grant payments
1. Get a building permit or notification if you are doing work that is construction according to § 4 of the Building Code and notify us by email when the document is registered in the building register.
The works that require a building permit or notification are the construction, reconstruction or extension of a dwelling and modification, construction or replacement of utility systems.
If you do not know whether the planned works are construction according to the Building Code, ask for advice from the local government’s construction consultant via email. Send the construction consultant's answer to the EIS email address [email protected].
If you carry out work in which you replace old materials with new ones, the work is considered to be a replacement with equivalent materials and there is no need to submit a construction permit, a building notice or a written approval from the local government's construction consultant. These works include renewing the interior finishing of the rooms, replacing fillings, etc.
Please note that the stove, fireplace, cooker, chimney and connecting flue can only be built by a potter with a valid professional certificate.
2. Notify the EIS five working days before starting project activities.
For this, send an email to [email protected], informing us of your wish to start project activities. We will check that the grant recipient(s) who is/are the dwelling owner(s) have no restrictions on the grant payments and will respond to your email within a couple of days.
General conditions of the grant payments
To receive the grant payments, collect the payment documents → submit them to the EIS → the EIS makes the bank transfer to the current account of the company that issued the invoice. If you have paid the invoice(s) yourself, we will pay the amount of the invoice to your current account.
The beneficiary of the construction services and materials is the grant recipient so all expense documents must be issued in the name of the grant recipient.
The maximum period of processing payment documents and making payments is 10 working days.
The minimum grant payment amount is €500. The amount may consist of different invoices.
GRANT PAYMENT
There are four possibilities to use the grant. They are described in the following sections:
- Grant payment if you order a construction or installation service together with construction materials or equipment
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This payment option is suitable if you order construction work with construction materials or equipment with installation from a construction company.
- Get different price quotes, choose a suitable company, agree on the payment procedure and sign a contract of employment. The company prepares the documents.
If the company wants an advance payment, the EIS can make an advance payment of 30% of the cost of the employment contract, but only for the purchase of construction materials. No advance payment is made for the works.
In the case of production and installation of windows and doors, the company may ask for an advance payment of 50% of the total cost of the employment contract. We will pay the other half of the total cost to the company after the completion and installation of the windows according to the handover-acceptance act and the final invoice. There is no advance payment for installation services.
If the company does not want an advance payment, submit the documents specified in sections 2 and 4 to the EIS after the works have been completed and accepted by the handover-acceptance act. - For the advance invoice payment, submit to the EIS:
- an employment contract and price quote;
- an invoice;
- a payment request based on the invoice;
If you have several invoices, include them all in one payment request.
We will pay the invoice to the company's current account within ten working days and inform you of the payment date by email. - The company performs construction and/or installation work and hands them over to you with the handover-acceptance act and prepares the final invoice.
- For the final invoice payment, submit to the EIS:
- a final invoice;
- a payment request based on the final invoice;
- a handover-acceptance act of the works;
- a final report on the use of the grant and photos of the finished work if the work is completed and the grant is to be paid out in full.
We will pay the invoice to the company's current account within ten working days and inform you of the payment date by email.
Construction services can also be ordered from a sole proprietor, but buying construction materials or equipment from sole proprietors is not permitted. You can buy them separately in this case.
- Get different price quotes, choose a suitable company, agree on the payment procedure and sign a contract of employment. The company prepares the documents.
- Grant payment if you only order a construction or installation service
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This payment option is suitable if you already have construction materials or equipment or you buy them separately with the grant and order only the construction service.
- Get different price quotes, choose a suitable company or sole proprietor and sign a contract of employment. The company or sole proprietor prepares the documents.
EIS does not pay an advance fee for construction works and installation services. Payment is made after the works have been completed and accepted with a handover-acceptance act. - The company performs construction and/or installation works and hands them over to you with the handover-acceptance act and prepares the final invoice.
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For the final invoice payment, submit to EIS:
- an employment contract and price quote;
- an invoice;
- a payment request based on the final invoice;
- a handover-acceptance act of the works;
- a final report on the use of the grant and photos of the finished work if the work is completed and the grant is to be paid out in full.We will pay the invoice to the company's current account within ten working days and inform you of the payment date by email.
- Get different price quotes, choose a suitable company or sole proprietor and sign a contract of employment. The company or sole proprietor prepares the documents.
- Grant payment if you buy construction materials or equipment with the grant and organise the construction or installation work yourself
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This payment option is suitable if you want to use the grant only for the purchase of building materials or equipment and you will carry out or organise the construction or installation work yourself.
- Choose a suitable company that sells construction materials or equipment. The company must be registered in the Business Register. Construction materials or equipment may not be purchased from a company owned by the grant recipient or in which the grant recipient has a majority stake.
In the case of ordering windows and doors without installation, the company may ask for an advance payment of 100% of the total cost of the contract. An employment contract, quote and invoice must be submitted to the EIS.
Buying building materials from a private person or a sole proprietor is not permitted.
Ask the company for (an) advance invoice(s) for the construction materials or equipment you want to buy. The invoice payment period should be two weeks, if possible. Please note that the price quote is not a binding document and grant payments are not made based on this. -
For the invoice payment(s), submit to EIS:
- invoice(s);
- payment request based on the invoice(s);
If you have several invoices, include them all in one payment request.
We will pay the invoice(s) to the company's current account within ten working days and inform you of the payment date by email.Please Note! When you receive the goods paid for by the EIS, ask the seller for the final invoice or delivery note confirming the receipt of the goods and submit it to the EIS together with the next payment request or the final report on the use of the grant.
- Choose a suitable company that sells construction materials or equipment. The company must be registered in the Business Register. Construction materials or equipment may not be purchased from a company owned by the grant recipient or in which the grant recipient has a majority stake.
- Grant payment if you have paid for construction materials or equipment or construction or installation services and you want the EIS to reimburse the costs
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This payment option is suitable if you want to buy the building materials or equipment necessary for the work with your own money and use the grant to compensate the costs incurred.
Please note that the expenses incurred by you are eligible for compensation if:
- the expenses have been incurred after the grant allocation decision came into force (except for the cost of preparing the construction project, if the construction project was prepared after 1 March, 2016);
- the expenses correspond to the costs indicated in the application or changes approved by the EIS;
- you have paid for the goods with a personal debit or credit card or bank transfer, payments made in cash are not eligible;
- purchase invoices and receipts are issued in your name (anonymous purchase invoices and receipts are not reimbursed).
To reimburse the cost of purchase invoices/receipts, submit to the EIS:- named copies of purchase invoices/receipts (don’t submit the original documents);
- payment request based on purchase invoices/receipts;
- payment orders or bank statements proving the payment of purchase invoices/receipts.
If you have several invoices/receipts, include them all in one payment request.
We will pay the amount of the purchase invoices/receipts to the grant beneficiary's current account specified in the payment request within ten working days and inform you of the payment date by email.
Grant recipient’s obligations
1. You must use the dwelling built or improved with the grant as your family’s permanent residence for two years after receiving the last grant payment.
2. During the period of fulfilment of obligations, you must notify the EIS in writing of the following circumstances:
- if you plan to sell the dwelling before the period of fulfilment of obligations ends;
- if a law enforcement officer places a prohibition on the transfer of the dwelling in the land register to cover the owner's indebtedness;
- if a law enforcement officer has initiated enforcement proceedings to collect your and/or your co-owner’s debts.
If you sell the dwelling before the end of the period of fulfilment of obligations, you have to repay the grant amount for the unused period. The grant does not need to be repaid if you use the money from the sale to buy a more suitable dwelling for your family.
3. Keep grant-related documents for at least seven years after the grant has been paid out.