Energy Efficiency Certificates Are Obligatory In Spain From 1 June 2013

May 13, 2013 - PRLog -- Not a lot has been written about the introduction this year of Energy Efficiency Certificates in Spain compared to the number of people they will affect.  Everyone who owns a property and wants to rent or sell it will need this certificate.  Here is a quick resume of what it is all about.

From 1 June 2013, it will be obligatory for any property offered for rental or sale to have an Energy Efficiency Certificate.  The certificate is required for any property which rents out more than 4 months per year or properties offered for sale.  The aim of the certificate is to give clear and easily understood facts about the energy efficiency of one property against another.  

A poor energy rating will not mean that the property cannot be sold or rented and while the certificate will make suggestions as to how the energy rating could be improved, it will not be compulsory to make those alterations to your home.

The certificate can only be issued by authorised and qualified professional technicians, who will require to visit the property to take measurements and gather information to produce the certificate.

There are only a few exceptions which are exempt from needing the certificate such as properties under 50M2, places of worship, protected monuments and properties bought for demolition or complete renovation.

The fines for failure to comply are 3,000 to 600,000 euros and the onus is on the property owner to provide the certificate.  It will be required by the Notary at the time of sale and any property which does not have one should not be able to complete a sale.

These are the facts but will it work?  We asked Lesley McEwan of Cadizcasa “the energy efficiency certificate has been in place in other countries for several years now and many of the initial teething problems have been ironed out.  Every piece of legislation which helps us to be aware of the quantity of natural resources we are using and be more economical in their use is good for us and for the environment.  Anything which makes us consider the construction of a house, the insulation etc helps to improve building standards and provide better and more economical to run housing.  

The one problem I do have with this piece of legislation is that lack of time given for people to comply.  We have a start date of 1 June which is only 3 weeks away and to my knowledge no “period of grace” has been included in the legislation i.e. you have up to 31 December 2013 to comply, I therefore expect this will be a mad scramble and the technicians are going to be run ragged.  We have a company in place who can supply these certificates and we will be helping people to comply with the law as quickly as possible but the sheer numbers required mean that there will be delays so I am hopeful that the authorities will understand and be sympathetic.  In additional the official version says that no Notary will be allowed to process a house sale without a certificate so I am not sure where that will leave us.

It is also difficult to say whether the certificates will lead to more energy efficiency.  The reports will make suggestions as to how a home could become more energy efficient but without the pressure to make these alterations to your home, I think few people will comply.  

The one place I do see the certificate being of use is in the rental sector where clients are renting long term and paying for the utilities.  Obviously, we all want smaller household bills so if one property is rated as  B and another on offer is rated an F common sense dictates that the more energy efficient rated property will be attractive as it offers more economic living.

As with all new legislation, it will take time for us to see whether these certificates are helpful”.

For further information about the new Energy Efficiency Certificate please contact us at

www.cadizcasa.com

Tel: 0034 956 495 177 or 0034 679 553 159

Email to info@cadizcasa.com