BuildUPspeed Joins Finnish Stakeholders to Tackle Implementation Challenges

Speeding Up Renovation: BuildUPspeed Joins Finnish Stakeholders to Tackle Implementation Challenges

On 5 June 2025, the International Union of Property Owners (UIPI), together with EU-funded projects including BuildUPspeed, OneClickReno, CondoReno and Renpower, gathered key Finnish property stakeholders in Helsinki for a focused discussion on the practical implementation of energy renovations—particularly in light of the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) set to be transposed in 2026.

The workshop, hosted at the premises of Kiinteistöliitto, provided a space for frank conversation about the main barriers hindering the rollout of renovations in Finland. A few major points emerged:

• Urban-rural dynamics are posing financing challenges. While cities like Helsinki continue to grow, rural areas face depopulation and declining property values—making investment in renovation less viable.
• Financial institutions remain cautious, as energy renovations are often perceived as risky and not financially attractive.
• Small property owners lack access to the kind of support that larger institutional actors can secure. The lack of local one-stop-shop services is a recurring gap.
• The ageing demographic of Finnish homeowners makes it harder to engage them in renovation efforts.

Participants also recognised untapped opportunities: Finland’s homogenous building stock presents ideal conditions for replicable, industrialised renovation approaches that can help increase renovation speed and scale. However, these methods are not yet widely applied.

The event highlighted three key areas for action:

• Industrialised renovation solutions that can be replicated across similar buildings
• Development of effective and inclusive local OSS models
• Use of digital tools to support renovation planning and monitoring

The session wrapped up with a call to action: to work together across sectors and scales—local, national, and European—to turn legislation into results on the ground.