Jung kauft Alt (KfW 308): Buying and Renovating an Older Home to EH 85

The KfW 308 “Jung kauft Alt” programme gives families a low-interest loan to buy an existing home that is then renovated for energy efficiency. From 3 August 2026 the maximum amounts rise to €140,000, €160,000 or €180,000, depending on the number of children.

The low interest rate comes with one condition: within 54 months the house must reach the Efficiency House 85 EE standard. That means real work on the building envelope, roof, windows and building services.

Who qualifies

KfW 308 uses the same family rules as KfW 300. Eligible are households with at least one minor child and taxable income of no more than €90,000 with one child. Each additional child raises the limit by €10,000.

Any existing habitable building counts as an older home; KfW 308 sets no minimum age. New builds run through other programmes. What is funded here is the purchase plus renovation for owner occupation.

This programme carries no repayment grant; the benefit lies entirely in the interest rate. At the end of 2025 the effective annual rate ranged from roughly 0.01 to 1.12 percent, depending on the term. Owner occupation means the family moves into the renovated house itself.

Higher loan amounts from 3 August 2026

Lower maximum amounts apply until 2 August 2026; from 3 August 2026 the KfW raises them. Depending on the number of children, the increase is 30,000 to 40,000 euros of additional loan headroom. The table shows both figures.

Signing the purchase contract only after the cut-off date secures the higher limit. The KfW application runs through your bank and must be submitted before the project starts, so the sequence belongs ahead of signing. As of July 2026; check the exact terms before applying.

Efficiency House 85 EE: what falls due within 54 months

The 54 months run from the purchase. Within that window the building must reach Efficiency House 85 with the renewable energy class, or alternatively EH Denkmal EE for listed houses. An energy efficiency expert must accompany the project from the start and confirm the figures at the end.

Efficiency House 85 means the renovated home’s annual primary energy demand is 85 percent of a legally defined reference building. For a typical unrenovated older home, several trades interlock to get there.

The EE suffix stands for the renewable energy class. It requires that a substantial share of the heat comes from renewable sources, in practice usually a heat pump or a connection to a suitable heat network. Without this class, KfW 308 does not apply.

• Insulating the exterior walls plus the top-floor ceiling or roof and the basement ceiling
• Replacing old windows with glazing that has a low U-value
• Renewing the heating system, mostly on a renewable basis for the EE class
• Sealing thermal bridges and creating an airtight connection between the new components

The 54 months sound like plenty of time, but in practice they are tightly scheduled. Planning with the energy efficiency expert, quotes from the trades, procuring materials and the actual construction time all have to fit in. Anyone doing the renovation in phases, say roof and windows first, then the heating, agrees the sequence early with the specialist firm.

If the budget does not stretch to the full Efficiency House standard, or the programme does not fit, individual components can be a starting point through the BAFA individual measures with an iSFP. For KfW 308 itself, however, there is no way around the EH 85 EE standard.

Combining with the ILB modernisation programme

In Brandenburg the KfW loan can be stacked with the ILB modernisation programme, as long as the same costs are not funded twice. The ILB gives a €10,000 grant plus an interest-free loan of up to €230,000. Buying an existing building and then modernising it adds a further €20,000 loan.

The condition is a building constructed before 2 October 2009 and modernisation costs of at least €500 per square metre of living space. How the grant and loan break down in detail is set out in our article on the ILB funding in Brandenburg. You can reach the ILB housing advice line on 0331 660-1322, while KfW 308 is applied for through your own bank.

What an EH 85 renovation means on site

On paper Efficiency House 85 is a metric; on site it is weeks of work on the facade, roof and interior. At the Berlin workshops (BWB) we fully gutted two existing extensions, rebuilt the roofs and brought the facade up to the current energy standard.

With listed buildings the margin gets tighter. At the listed tram depot in Berlin Alt-Heiligensee we installed new masonry walls and reinforced concrete floors and renovated the facade without touching the character of the monument. This balance between energy standard and existing fabric decides whether the 54 months are enough.

Märkische Projekt Bau has worked in existing buildings across Berlin and Brandenburg since 1999, often during ongoing operation and with waterproofing to DIN 18195. Our sites lie within roughly 50 km of Wildau, with our own foremen, bricklayers and carpenters. We plan a funded older-home renovation so that the construction schedule and the energy expert’s certificates line up.

A first consultation before you buy

Whether KfW 308 on its own or together with the ILB is the cheapest route depends on the purchase price, year of construction, condition and number of children. This calculation belongs before the purchase decision, because the application has to come before the project.

Bring the property listing and rough figures, and we will assess the scope of renovation and eligibility together. You will find an overview of all programmes on our funding page, and you can arrange a free first consultation via contact.