Initial Situation
Since 2002, there has been an EU directive that requires owners of new buildings to obtain an energy certificate for their property (2002/91/EU). The directive aimed to improve the energy balance of buildings through optimal thermal insulation. In 2010, the EU directive of 19 May 2010 on the overall energy efficiency of buildings (recast) was introduced, replacing the previous directive 2002/91/EC.
In Germany, the amended Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV 2014), which came into effect on 1 May 2014, further tightened the energy certificate requirement.
Legal Regulation in Spain
The EU directive 2002/91/EU was implemented in Spain in 2007 (RD 47/2007), introducing for the first time the energy certificate (certificado de eficiencia energética), which generally applied only to newly constructed buildings.
On 1 June 2013, a royal decree (RD 235/2013) came into effect in Spain, transposing the amended EU directive 2010/31/EU into Spanish law. This new legal regulation now also included the obligation to obtain an energy certificate for existing properties, in addition to new buildings. The main objective was for all newly constructed buildings to have zero energy consumption by 31 December 2020.
The energy certificate must be presented at the latest when a property is offered for sale or rental. It is not sufficient to provide it only at the conclusion of a purchase or rental agreement. This regulation may not seem entirely logical, as even an owner who has no intention of selling or renting should be encouraged to prioritize energy efficiency.
Content of the Law
The basic idea of the law is to establish comparable regulations for properties as already exist for refrigerators and televisions, namely, the introduction of energy efficiency classes from A to G. This initially seems reasonable, as reducing energy consumption should remain the primary goal, and consumers (including buyers and tenants) are provided with objective data that highlight the energy consumption of their desired property.
Only a few properties are exempt from the obligation to obtain an energy certificate. These include historically protected buildings, churches and cathedrals, agricultural buildings, and apartments with a usable area of less than 50 square meters.
Procedure
To obtain an energy certificate, the owner/landlord must have their house or apartment inspected by an authorized technician (architect or engineer) for the following aspects: insulation, ventilation, orientation/location, ventilation system, existence of solar heating, sun protection, heating system, air conditioning, and lighting.
As a result of this examination, the property will be assigned an efficiency rating between A and G. In addition, the expert will provide non-binding recommendations for optimizing energy consumption. The costs, at around €100 (depending on the property’s size), are quite manageable. There is, therefore, no reason to avoid this legal obligation, especially considering the potential for significantly higher fines.
The energy certificate is considered “obtained” once it is registered in the specially created register of the competent authority. In Mallorca, this can only be done online since 28 April 2018, through the following link: https://www.caib.es/seucaib/es/tramites/tramite/1542609. This authority also issues the energy label with its corresponding category. The certificate is valid for ten years.
Responsibility in the Balearic Islands
The implementation of the legal regulation was delegated to the individual regions (Comunidades Autónomas; CCAA), which had to create the necessary bureaucratic conditions. On the Balearic Islands, the responsibility lies with the General Directorate for Industry and Energy (Dirección General de Industria y Energía).
After some initial difficulties, practical implementation is now smooth. The regional government has compiled all the necessary information on its website (http://energia.caib.es), including a list of all registered assessors. This website also provides access to the public register, allowing every citizen to verify whether a particular building has an energy certificate or not.
While this new legal regulation is a justified and earnest attempt to achieve energy savings in real estate, it must be noted that the purchase of a property is guided by different criteria than the purchase of a television or refrigerator. In the latter case, buyers can indeed make energy consumption a basis for their purchase decision, prompting manufacturers to focus on high energy efficiency or risk accepting price reductions.
No matter how many laws are enacted, the purchase of a property is not primarily determined by its energy efficiency. Other decision criteria play a crucial role, and it is questionable whether the old real estate saying “location, location, location” can be changed by laws.
Another disadvantage of the legal regulation is that it only makes determinations without establishing minimum criteria for energy consumption. It merely observes the situation without setting minimum standards for energy consumption.
This is a machine translation of the German article.