State-subsidised refurbishment of socialist apartment buildings in Estonia

Abstract

Apartment buildings in large urban housing estates constitute a large share of the housing supply. Most apartment buildings that are located in housing estates are over 30 years old and, for the most part, only minor refurbishment work has been carried out on them so far. Common problems for these apartment buildings are high energy consumption levels and poor indoor climate conditions. Although research has shown that the condition of load-bearing constructions is satisfactory, some problems do exist which are related to the degradation of facades and balconies. When it comes to restoring these buildings, two different approaches have been discussed in Estonia: demolishing the old buildings and replacing them with brand new apartment buildings; or refurbishing the existing buildings. The vision which prefers the demolition of the old apartment buildings and the construction of new buildings has not been realised in practice thanks to the high costs involved, and also due in part to the apartments being privately owned. The economic and environmental reasons favour an intensive refurbishment of the existing buildings. The costs involved in such an intensive level of refurbishment work are approximately three or four times lower than they would be for putting up a brand new apartment building. From the environmental aspect, rebuilding is also not particularly reasonable thanks to the much higher energy and carbon footprint involved in the use of new building materials. Refurbishment has also generated positive effects on the macroeconomic level, as quantified in terms of job creation and tax returns. In practical terms, refurbishment has been the only feasible solution when it comes to modernising apartment buildings.