Energy certificates now required in Spain for properties for sale or rent
From April onwards an energy certificate will be required to sell or rent homes in Spain.
Those who sell or rent a house built before 2007 will need a mandatory energy performance certificate. According to the Ministry of Industry, the royal draft decree will be approved this month but will allow a period of adjustment of two months before this becomes law in April 2013.
This is yet another requirement that comes from Europe and was expected to be adopted before 1st January this month. The industry ministry said that if this draft was not approved by the deadline, Spain would probably face a penalty from Europe.
Once the new law is enforced all owners who wish to sell or rent their homes must have available to the buyer and / or the tenant this “energy certificate”. Protected buildings and monuments will be excluded, as well as places of worship or residential buildings that are subject to a lease for less than four months a year.
Therefore, each house will have a label similar to those already used in electrical appliances indicating how efficient it is in terms of energy consumption. This label is currently used for new houses and classifies each property with a color code according to a scale of from “A” (the most efficient) to “G” (least efficient).