July marked the launch of MAESTRO, a new EU-funded project that aims to make deep energy renovation in social housing faster, more cost-effective and easier to replicate across Europe. Led by Ressorts, the project brings together USH, its regional federations in Pays de la Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Normandie, technical partners, and Housing Europe.
MAESTRO will demonstrate how housing providers can join forces through grouped procurement, enabling larger renovation programmes, innovative contracting models and more attractive investment opportunities. The project will launch a joint procurement covering around 1,500 homes in Pays de la Loire before replicating the approach in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (500 homes) and Normandie (200 homes). It will also produce open-source toolkits on financing, energy performance guarantees, photovoltaic integration and renovation diagnostics that can be used by housing providers beyond the project.
Housing Europe will lead the communication, dissemination and European replication work, ensuring that the project’s results reach housing providers, policymakers and EU institutions across Europe. By sharing practical tools, fostering a European coalition and promoting policy dialogue, MAESTRO will help turn an innovative French model into a scalable approach that supports affordable, climate-neutral housing across the continent.