Renovation-as-a-Service (RaaS): activating collective action for housing rehabilitation

Barcelona City Council · BIT Habitat · IMHAB · IMI 

In Barcelona, more than 372,000 residents live in aging homes that present structural, accessibility, and energy efficiency deficiencies. Renovation has become increasingly complex: communities face deadlock in collective decision-making, high upfront costs, and fragmented administrative pathways that prevent projects from moving forward.

In response to this context, Renovation-as-a-Service (RaaS) was developed as a city-led model that redefines the role of municipal government. Rather than acting solely as an administrative authority, City Hall becomes an institutional guarantor and proactive facilitator of collective action.

Through the integration of digital diagnostics, facilitation by property managers, and blended finance backed by municipal guarantees, the model enables communities to overcome structural barriers, reach agreements, and implement verified renovation projects at scale.

The initiative received international recognition after winning the Bloomberg Mayors Challenge.

Objectives:

• Activate collective action in aging housing
• Overcome decisional paralysis rooted in neighbor distrust
• Mobilize blended finance to catalyze private investment
• Reduce the time required to reach community consensus
• Enable large-scale, verified renovation outcomes

Methodology

RaaS integrates four key components:

• A data-driven diagnostic process that aggregates municipal building information into standardized assessments identifying structural priorities and estimated intervention costs.
• A digital decision-making infrastructure that enables personalized financing simulations, contractor comparison, and streamlined administrative procedures.
• A facilitated collective governance mechanism led by trained property managers who support mediation, consensus-building, and transparent community voting.
• A blended finance structure backed by municipal guarantees that reduces borrowing costs, extends repayment terms beyond 15 years, absorbs default risk, and mobilizes private capital at scale.

The model operates as a hybrid system: digital tools combined with in-person mediation. Pilot testing confirmed that digital infrastructure alone is insufficient for collective decision-making, particularly in diverse communities.

Impact and results

Within two years, RaaS aims to achieve three key outcomes:

• More than 9,000 residents living in significantly improved homes, either with works completed or under renovation
• A validated 1:8 public-to-private leverage ratio, unlocking approximately €20 million in renovations
• A 40% reduction in the average time required for neighbors to reach consensus on renovation

Beyond infrastructure improvements, the model generates measurable social impact. Residents regain mobility and autonomy, improve their quality of life, and completed projects trigger replication effects when neighboring buildings initiate their own renovation processes.

Key learnings

• The primary barrier to renovation is decisional paralysis rooted in distrust, not only financial limitation
• Hybrid facilitation—combining digital tools with trusted in-person mediation—is essential
• Municipal guarantees are decisive in mobilizing private capital at scale and extending long-term financing
• Strengthening existing trusted actors, such as property managers and professional associations, enables organic scalability
• Cross-departmental coordination within municipal government is critical to eliminate administrative fragmentation

Clients and partners

—Barcelona City Council
— BIT Habitat Foundation
— Municipal Housing and Rehabilitation Institute (IMHAB)
— Municipal Institute of Informatics (IMI)