Athens is shaking off its decaying facades

The generous municipal programme can cover 100% of a façade renovation project

Last week, the Мunicipality of Athens announced preliminary results for its ‘Façade’ (Πρόσοψη) programme. The programme aims for a cosmetic improvement of the Greek capital’s urban environment by helping homeowners clean up and rejuvenate decaying buildings.

The programme covers 100% of expenses

According to local authorities, there are currently 223 apartment buildings, 67 detached houses and 78 listed buildings participating in the programme. Moreover, the city claims that the programme has an applicant acceptance rate of 91%, urging more people to take part.

Before and after shots of a building that has gone through the programme,
Source: Municipality of Athens

The programme aims to clean the city building by building, fixing worn and chipped plaster details, as well as repainting and cleaning the soot and grime collected over the years.

A unique feature of the Façade programme is that, unlike many equivalents from around the EU, Athens offers homeowners 100% of the funds required to do the work – to a maximum of 6,000 euros per building. That number can go higher (7,200 euros) when it comes to listed and protected buildings.

Additionally, the city can also provide professional consultation on what work exactly needs to be done on a building’s façade, to a maximum of 400 euros, still covered under the programme. The only conditions for homeowners include removing illegal antennas and signage that the building could have acquired over the years.

Making Athens cleaner together

The very ambitious urban rejuvenation programme in Athens premiered last June and has received a lot of support from local authorities. Although it aims to provide aesthetic improvements, these can serve to ‘clean up’ Athens’ image for more visitors and investors.

The project has a budget of 1.7 million euros and officials say that applications will be open to homeowners until 100% of the funds are absorbed.

Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis was quoted in a statement, explaining: "When we all work together, we can change our city more easily. This is a multi-level intervention, which aims to upgrade the aesthetic of the city and highlight its building wealth.”