Tuesday, May 14, 2013

New regulation

It is hard enough to try and sell your home in Spain even if you offer it at a “bargain basement” price. The glut of houses for sale and the inability for young people to find work let alone obtain a mortgage have created a stalemate in the housing market. From the 1st of June, it will become even more difficult because by then the law will require buildings for sale or for long term rent to have an “energy efficiency certificate”.

The Ministry of Industry is finalising the regulations that will make it obligatory for all homes that are sold or rented in Spain to have an "energy efficiency certificate". This is a document that describes how efficient your home's energy consumption is and will cost around 250 euros for the average home. The measure is a European initiative, and is coming into force on the 1st of June, 2013.

The European directive aims to increase energy efficiency in buildings and homes in order to protect the environment, and makes it compulsory for all new and existing homes which come onto the market, whether for sale or for rent, to have this certificate.

The promotion of energy efficiency in buildings and homes has formed part of European priorities since 2002, when Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council was approved. This directive was implemented in Spain in 2007 through Royal Decree 4 7/2007, although at that time it was only applicable to developers. The surprise is that it now has to be complied with by private individuals, and it is likely to stir up strong feelings, judging by what has happened in other European countries where it has already been implemented.

Let us be clear, this is not something that Spain has dreamed up on its own. The 2002 Directive and the 2010 amendment of the Directive made it obligatory to promote energy efficiency in existing buildings and homes. Consequently, all homes that come onto the market in any country in the European Union, whether for sale or for rent, have to have this energy efficiency certificate, which is valid for a maximum of 10 years.

The owner of the home, building, or business premises will be responsible for obtaining and paying for the certificate, which they will need in order to sell or lease their home. In addition to the certificate, each home will also receive a series of recommendations to improve the energy performance of the home and enable it to go up at least one level in the energy efficiency scale.

Cost of the certificate is as follows:

Up to 100m2 - 250€ + IVA

Between 100m2-200m2 - 375€ + IVA

Between 200m2 - 300m2 - 500€ + IVA

Over 300m2 - 630€ + IVA

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