Buildings: grants, eligible and non-eligible expenditure
Grants granted by the Regional Directorates of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) for buildings protected as historic monuments are entered in the Finance Act under Action 1 of Programme 175. They are not paid by right to the owners but depend on the available credits and take into account several criteria.
Subsidies
Applications for grants are submitted to the decentralised departments of the Ministry of Culture (DRAC/DAC/DCJS) by the contracting authorities responsible for the work envisaged on properties protected as historic monuments.
The decentralized service of the Ministry of Culture assesses the general interest of the operation, the priority of the work and the application of criteria of modulation of the rate to define the eligibility and the amount of the subsidy, taking into account the appropriations available.
Thus the average subsidy rates are as follows:
- 40% on a building classified as a historic monument
- 20% for a building registered as a historic monument
The allocation of a grant by the State, within the limits of the available appropriations, is a possibility and not a right.
The basis for calculating the grant is the amount of work eligible on CBM protected areas only. The calculation is made excluding tax (HT) for public owners, who recover VAT, and all taxes included (TTC) for private owners.
For buildings listed as historic monuments, State aid is capped at 40% of the actual cost of the work. Article L. 621-29 The Heritage Code indicates that 40% of “actual expenditures on maintenance and repair work required to preserve the building” may be subsidized. This ancient provision is constantly interpreted as meaning all the works envisaged whatever their nature (maintenance, repair, restoration).
Local authorities (with the exception of those located overseas), which are responsible for project management of investment works on their own historic monuments, must contribute at least 20% of the total amount of public funding, unless the prefect of the department waives.
The equipment endowment of rural territories (DETR) cannot benefit the investment work on historic monument.
Eligible expenditure
The works eligible for these state subsidies are those necessary for the conservation (maintenance, repair, restoration, security) of the parts classified or listed under the MH (exterior or interior) of the buildings.
This work includes:
- maintenance work;
- repair work;
- emergency work: site closure, shoring, consolidation, temporary coverage, purges, removal of items in danger, etc.
The security work that can be subsidized are those that are strictly necessary for the conservation of the building: fire safety devices, suppression or neutralization of networks or technical facilities posing a security risk (not their replacement):
- project management assignments related to restoration work;
- assistance to private project owners, in case of lack of assistance to public project owners and insufficient resources;
- assessment and diagnostic studies prior to restoration work, including historical, scientific and technical expertise, where appropriate;
- the restoration work.
Reconstruction work (sometimes called “restitution”) is restoration work.
However, funding is not a priority, unless replenishment is essential to the conservation of HD (e.g., coverage):
On the other hand, work on unprotected parts of a building protected as a historical monument is not eligible; an exception to this principle exists for works that are strictly necessary for the conservation of the protected part of the building.
Non-eligible expenditure
Modification work, alterations and maintenance operations such as:
- renovation works (non patrimonial) of protected parts without heritage value, decoration works, interior fittings;
- Expansion and development of additional spaces;
- the creation of furniture;
- artistic creation (these interventions fall under Programme 131);
- the creation of liturgical furniture and musical instruments;
- Renovation or implementation of electrical, heating, plumbing, sanitary, etc.
- renovation or implementation of lighting systems;
- periodic checks of fluids, fire and panic safety equipment, lighting, heating, etc.;
- equipment or facilities related to accessibility (creation and maintenance of elevators, ramps, etc.).
Justification
State subsidies for the restoration and maintenance of historic monuments are a major lever for the preservation and enhancement of national heritage. Government grants have a significant leverage effect (2.04 in 2018). They generate investment that allows many small, highly qualified companies to maintain, develop and maintain their know-how.
In 2020, despite the difficult health context, the DRAC remained fully mobilized and committed nearly €201 million for the conservation of buildings protected as historic monuments. This represents nearly 6,300 operations on nearly 3,800 listed or classified buildings.
Subsidies for unprotected buildings as historic monuments
There is no longer any funding from the Ministry of Culture for «unprotected rural heritage», since the funds it had for this purpose were transferred to the departments under the law on local freedoms and responsibilities of 2004.
The appropriations of the Ministry of Culture dedicated to historic monuments and monumental heritage (Action 1 of the 175 programme) are therefore not intended to finance work on unprotected buildings as historic monuments.
Very punctually, the credits intended to subsidize heritage studies on protected areas can finance work on buildings, properties of territorial collectivities or private persons, This practice concerns limited appropriations (Action 2 of programme 175).
Other state subsidy schemes are likely to finance work on unprotected heritage as historic monuments, in particular the provision of equipment for rural territories (DETR) paid to certain local authorities.
The purpose of DETR is to subsidize projects “for the realization of investments, as well as projects in the economic, social, environmental, sports and tourism fields or promoting the development or maintenance of public services in rural areas”, it may concern heritage not protected under the historic monuments of local authorities.
Regulatory references
Wealth Code:
- article L. 621-29
- article R. 621-82
General Code for Local Authorities:
- article L. 1111-10
- article R. 2334-38
Decree No. 2018-514 of 25 June 2018 on State subsidies for investment projects
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