Updated: May 2026 — what you need to know

The FKG (Förderprogramm Klimaneutrale Gebäude — Munich City's Climate-Neutral Buildings Subsidy Programme) of the State Capital of Munich is a municipal grant for energy-related renovation and new-build measures within the City of Munich (administrative area). It is combinable with BEG and KfW federal subsidies, but runs through a separate application channel via Munich's Climate and Environmental Protection Department. Anyone who knows the FKG and uses it strategically can lift the overall subsidy rate of many Munich renovation projects significantly — but the application must be submitted BEFORE commissioning the contractors. We assess subsidy opportunities as part of our [funding strategy](/foerderberatung).

What is Munich City's FKG programme?

Since 2017 the FKG has been the central municipal funding instrument of the State Capital of Munich for climate protection in the buildings sector. It supplements federal subsidies — that is, BEG (Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings) and KfW programmes — with a local grant component that is financed and awarded independently of the federal government.

The programme is administered by Munich's Climate and Environmental Protection Department (Referat für Klima- und Umweltschutz, RKU). The application is filed directly with the RKU, not via BAFA or KfW. This means the FKG follows its own programme logic, its own conditions, its own deadlines and its own evidence requirements.

The strategic significance of the FKG lies in its combinability. While different federal programmes often have mutual exclusion or offsetting rules, the FKG as a municipal grant is usually possible in addition to federal funding — up to the limit of the eligible investment costs. This makes the FKG a real subsidy lever on top, not an alternative.

Current subsidy conditions, maximum amounts and grant rates are adjusted periodically by the city council and the RKU — programme conditions are subject to change. We therefore clarify the current programme situation for your specific property at the time of your application. A blanket statement in an advisory article would not be reliable — FKG eligibility varies by measure type and call for applications.

Why most advisers leave out the FKG

In our practice we regularly see Munich owners being pointed exclusively to BEG federal funding and possibly the tax bonus under § 35c EStG (German tax bonus for energy renovations) by their energy adviser or architect — while the municipal FKG programme is not mentioned at all. This creates a systematic advisory gap.

The reasons are understandable: many energy advisers focus on BEG/KfW programmes because these are nationally uniform and appear in every project. Municipal programmes vary from city to city, have their own logic and are requested less frequently. Anyone working mainly outside Munich rarely has experience with the FKG application path.

On top of that, the application path runs separately from federal funding, with its own logic, its own deadlines and its own evidence. Anyone accompanying an FKG application must know Munich's programme documentation, follow the current funding directives and cleanly coordinate the interfaces with BEG/KfW. That is additional work that not every adviser does.

The former major provider in the FKG segment, fkg-energieberatung.de, is no longer active by our observation. This creates a market gap — and at the same time an untapped funding potential for Munich owners who rely on standard advice limited to federal subsidies.

Which measures are eligible?

The FKG funds a broad range of measures around climate neutrality in existing buildings and in new construction. Typical eligible areas include (descriptively, without guaranteed subsidy rates for the individual case):

Full energy refurbishments to efficiency-house standard (in particular the KfW efficiency-house standard), where the building envelope and the building services are modernised together.
Envelope insulation on external walls, roof, basement ceiling and top-floor ceiling.
Window replacement combined with U-value improvements.
Heating modernisation focused on renewables: heat pumps (air-to-water, brine-to-water, water-to-water), district heating connection (district heat / neighbourhood network), hybrid systems and biomass plants.
Photovoltaic systems with storage for self-consumption.
Solar thermal for domestic hot water or combined heating support.
Sanitary modernisations with water-saving potential, which can receive an additional bonus depending on the programme call.
Ventilation systems with heat recovery, which are particularly useful for tight building envelopes.

Important: We clarify the current funding logic and maximum grants in the initial consultation — FKG programme conditions are subject to change. What applied a year ago may be structured differently today. A blanket statement on subsidy rates or maximum amounts would not be reliable and would not be helpful to you.

Who is entitled to apply?

Eligibility under the FKG is tied to two conditions:

Property condition: The building must be located within the City of Munich (administrative area). This is more narrowly defined than many owners assume — the Munich administrative district (Landkreis) (including Grünwald, Pullach, Unterhaching, Neuried etc.) is not part of the city and is not FKG-eligible. Municipalities such as Planegg, Krailling or Gauting also fall outside. In the initial consultation we clarify this city-boundary question immediately.

Applicant condition: Owners (natural or legal persons), homeowner associations (WEG) and, in certain constellations, tenants are eligible — the latter only with the express consent of the landlord and under a separate programme logic.

Early application is decisive. The FKG application must be submitted and confirmed BEFORE commissioning the contractors. Anyone who has already placed the construction order and only then files an FKG application is disqualified in the vast majority of cases — this prior-review logic in the FKG is strict.

Application path in 5 steps

A typical FKG-funded project follows five steps:

Step 1 — Clarify eligibility. We check the location of the property (within the City of Munich?), the ownership status and the type of planned measure. This clarification happens in the initial consultation and is free of charge.

Step 2 — Pre-application advice with Munich's Climate and Environmental Protection Department. Optional, but often useful, especially for complex renovation packages, WEG constellations or listed buildings. The RKU offers consultation hours in which programme details are clarified.

Step 3 — Eligibility memo by an energy efficiency expert listed on the dena expert list for federal funding. Here the planned measure is technically categorised, the requirements for energy efficiency and components are reviewed, and compliance with the FKG minimum criteria is documented. This expert pre-screening is often a formal precondition for the application.

Step 4 — Application with all documents. Submitted are typically: application form, contractors' quotes, technical descriptions of the planned components, proof of ownership (land register extract or comparable), where applicable powers of attorney for WEG or tenants, site plan and energy calculations.

Step 5 — Payout after completion and evidence. After implementation, the use of funds is documented (contractor invoices, specialist company declarations, final inspection where applicable). Only then is the grant paid out.

Combining FKG + BEG + tax bonus

This is where the real strategic skill lies — and the area in which most Munich owners give away money without experienced advice.

Three (in fact four) building blocks are available in principle:

1. BEG (Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings) — grants for individual measures or efficiency-house renovation via BAFA/KfW. 2. FKG Munich (municipal grant) — combinable with BEG. 3. § 35c EStG (German tax bonus for energy renovations) — a tax reduction on renovation costs spread over three years. 4. iSFP bonus on BEG individual measures, provided a valid [individual renovation roadmap](/sanierungsfahrplan) is in place.

IMPORTANT — and this is the most common pitfall: § 35c EStG (the tax bonus) excludes the use of BEG funding for the same measure. The mutual exclusion rule between direct federal funding and tax reduction applies. You must choose one of the two tracks — either direct BEG funding or tax treatment under § 35c EStG.

The FKG, as a municipal grant, can usually be combined with both federal tracks — so either "BEG + FKG" or "§ 35c EStG + FKG". Which combination is economically more advantageous depends on the scope of the measures, your personal tax situation and the time horizon.

A rule of thumb: for larger renovation packages with a high funding rate (heat pump, efficiency-house renovation) BEG + FKG is usually advantageous. For owners with a high marginal tax rate and medium-sized measure packages, § 35c EStG + FKG can be the better option. We model both scenarios in the initial consultation and recommend the economically superior strategy.

What the City of Munich currently supports in particular

From our practice and observation of recent FKG programme calls, it is possible to identify where the City of Munich is currently setting particular policy priorities:

District heating connection in neighbourhoods with a municipal district heat network or planned expansion. The municipal utility (Stadtwerke, SWM) is currently expanding the district heating network — anyone in a connection area often has attractive conditions.
Neighbourhood-level approaches in districts with district-heat expansion plans, for example in parts of Schwabing, Sendling, Pasing and Bogenhausen.
Heating replacement in existing buildings, particularly when replacing oil and natural gas boilers with heat pumps or district heating connections.
Energy refurbishment of listed buildings, with heritage-compatible solutions such as internal insulation, wooden windows and reversible plant engineering concepts.

Mistakes Munich owners should avoid

In practice we keep seeing the same error sources costing Munich owners their FKG funding:

Mistake 1: Filing the application AFTER commissioning the contractor. This is the most common disqualification reason. Anyone who has already placed the construction order cannot retroactively claim FKG funding — the programme's prior-review logic is applied strictly.

Mistake 2: Double application BEG + § 35c EStG for the same measure. This is impermissible and is identified at the latest in the tax return or in the use-of-funds evidence. Consequence: clawback of the funding, often with interest.

Mistake 3: Missing or incomplete proof of ownership, especially in WEG constellations where the resolution of the owners' meeting must be cleanly documented.

Mistake 4: Misunderstandings about the city boundary. Grünwald is NOT part of the City of Munich, but of the Munich administrative district (Landkreis) — and is therefore not FKG-eligible. However, the Munich administrative district has its own funding programmes, which we review on a municipality-by-municipality basis. Gauting, Krailling, Planegg and Pullach also lie outside the FKG. We review the specific municipal funding situation in the initial consultation.

Mistake 5: Starting measures early without funding confirmation. Even if the application has been filed within the deadlines, work on the measure should only begin after written confirmation of funding. Otherwise considerable funding risks arise.

What we do for you at enbe

We assess subsidy opportunities across the entire programme landscape — BEG (BAFA and KfW), FKG Munich, § 35c EStG and, where applicable, the [BAFA energy advice](/bafa-energieberatung) including the iSFP bonus. We coordinate the overall strategy so that the combination rules are respected and at the same time the optimal funding lever is used.

Specifically, we take on, if requested:

Preparation of the eligibility memo for the FKG application.
Support with the FKG application, including all technical documents.
Coordination of BEG/KfW applications in parallel with the FKG application.
A cleanliness check on the combination rules so that no double-claim arises.
Use-of-funds evidence and final inspection support at the end of the measure.

Marc Strassner, managing director of enbe, is listed on the dena expert list for federal funding. With its locations in Grünwald (south of Munich) and Utting am Ammersee, enbe covers the City of Munich (administrative area), the Munich administrative district (Landkreis), the Five Lakes region and the whole of Upper Bavaria. We know Munich's funding landscape from current mandates and know where municipal programmes are strategically effective — and where they are not.

Next step

Book a free 20-minute initial consultation via the [contact page](/kontakt). In a first telephone call we clarify whether your property is FKG-eligible, which combination of BEG, FKG and the tax bonus is economically most suitable for your specific renovation — and how we structure the application path together. Anyone renovating in Munich should know the FKG. The details are in our [funding strategy](/foerderberatung).

FKG Munich — the overlooked local subsidy lever for energy renovation