HANNOVER SOCIAL AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The project consists of the construction of social and affordable housing units for rent in the City of Hannover, Germany.

The operation will finance an investment programme aimed to increase the number of available social and affordable housing units for rent. The operation is expected to ameliorate shortages in social and affordable housing supply for low and medium income households and contribute to urban regeneration and renewal. The investment programme will aim to meet the high energy efficiency standard NZEB (nearly zero-energy buildings) for new construction. The housing investments concerned are envisaged to form part of specific local integrated urban development plans (INSEKs/ Integrierte Stadtentwicklungskonzepte).

The Project comprises the construction of high-quality and energy efficient social and affordable housing units for rent in the City of Hannover, Germany. The project contributes to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, various EU Sustainable Urban Development ambitions, and Energy Efficiency targets, as well as local and state level objectives. It addresses a number of externalities and sub-optimal investment flows. The Project increases the supply of social and affordable housing for rent and the market flexibility to respond to the current social and affordable housing needs. It also contributes towards improving the social mix across the city and promotes greater social inclusion, thus, supporting sustainable urban development.

The Bank will provide an unsecured loan, which will be effectively subordinated to the borrower's standard mortgage loans. The Bank's loan will thus fill a financing gap as mortgage loans from commercial and promotional banks require that part of the project cost is covered by either by own funds or unsecured loans without recourse to the assets financed. The Bank's loan will also help the borrower to optimize its asset encumbrance levels with a view towards mobilizing future funding for the City of Hannover's ambitions to become climate neutral by 2035. The Bank's financing will also offer further important benefits such as a very long loan maturity and flexibility with respect to availability period, interest rate arrangements and drawdowns, which will enable an optimal alignment with the implementation modalities of the Project and thus further increase its affordability.

National environmental legislation has been harmonised in line with the relevant EU Directives 2011/92/EU Directive (EIA) and 2001/42/EC (SEA). The Bank's appraisal will focus on the Promoter's environmental management capacity to properly apply the EU SEA Directive 2001/42/EC, the EU EIA Directive 2011/92/EU, as well as the requirements of the EU Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and EU Birds Directive 2009/147/EC, where appropriate. The applicable energy efficiency requirements in line with the EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings 2010/31/EU, as well as the status of any environmental studies and public consultations related to the housing investments will also be reviewed during project appraisal.

The Promoter has been assessed by the EIB as being a private company not subject to EU rules on public procurement or concessions.