What is the Energy Efficiency Certificate?
The energy efficiency certificate or energy certificate is nothing more than an official document written by a competent technician. You will necessarily need it when:
- You want to sell a property.
- You want to rent a property that you own.
This certificate includes objective information about the energy characteristics of the home. It is prepared by calculating the energy consumption that each building or home needs for a year, under normal operating and occupation conditions.
Based on this calculation, the property may be energy rated with one letter or another. The calculation includes the production of hot water, heating, lighting, cooling and ventilation. It also takes into account elements such as exterior enclosure materials, carpentry, the type of windows or air conditioning systems.
How much does it cost to obtain the Energy Certificate?
The price of an energy certificate varies greatly depending on the technicians available in the area where the property for which it is contracted is located, the type of property, size…
Frequently (but not always) in homes of less than 80 square meters you pay between 50 and 250 euros. For larger homes, the price increases progressively, reaching around 100-300 euros for homes between 80 and 150 square meters. And so on.
The registration of the energy certificate can be done in person or electronically, attaching with it a registration application document that each autonomous community issues on their official online portals.
The price of registering the energy certificate is completely free in Aragón, Andalucía, Asturias, Cantabria, Canarias, Ceuta, Madrid, Navarra and País Vasco
How to request an Energy Certificate?
To obtain the energy certificate you must follow the following steps:
- Choose a company, architect, engineer or licensed technician: Research and request proposals from several qualified experts working in your area. The price of the services charged by the expert must correspond to the value and quality that the expert brings to the work in issuing the certificate and the availability of clarification and interaction between the expert and the owner. Once an option has been chosen, the technician will have to collect information about the home by going to it in person (walls, windows, air conditioning, heating, orientation and dimension, among others). Afterwards, it will carry out the calculations that define the energy rating of the property.
- Gather the necessary documentation: before the technician’s visit, gather all the documentation related to your home (such as the plan or technical sheet of the home). Consulting all the documents allows an assessment that is more adjusted to the reality of the home.
- Facilitates the visit: the expert’s visit is mandatory, so it facilitates access to all spaces in the home, to allow the collection of information. It is illegal to make an energy certificate by hearsay, by video call or based solely on photographs. And it is sanctioned as a very serious infraction with fines of 1.001 to 6.000 euros, according to Royal Legislative Decree 7/2015.
- Follow the process: follow the certification process and evaluate with the expert the possible improvement measures to apply. Take advantage of the fact that you have a specialist at your disposal and, together, you see how to improve the house and enjoy all the possible benefits.
- The final step: the technician will carry out the calculations that define the energy rating of the property. And the final step is the issuance of the energy efficiency certificate, with the data endorsed by the specialist technician, and the registration with the competent body once obtained. The latter is essential for its validity.
El certificado energético para alquilar y vender inmuebles es obligatorio desde junio de 2013 y, de acuerdo con la normativa, es necesario registrar el certificado energético en el organismo competente de cada Comunidad Autónoma. Las tasas del registro son propias de cada comunidad. La gestión de idealista incluye el pago de estas tasas.
In what situations is the Energy Efficiency Certificate not mandatory?
The following properties are exempt from having this certificate:
- Buildings and monuments that are officially protected because they are part of a declared environment, or because of their particular architectural or historical value.
- Religious and cult buildings.
- Buildings with a total useful area of less than 50 m².
- Workshops or rooms intended for agricultural work and not for residential use.
- Buildings that, due to their characteristics, must remain open.
- Temporary constructions that are less than two years old since their manufacture.
- Buildings or parts of buildings whose use is less than four months per year, or for a limited time per year and that results in an energy consumption of less than 25% of that expected for its use during the entire year, provided that this is stated by means of responsible declaration of the homeowner.
If you are not within any of these exceptions, before proceeding to sign the sale or lease contract, the notary will require this certificate as part of the mandatory documentation to formalize the procedure.
What is the validity of energy certificates?
It is valid for 10 years and the owner will be responsible for its renewal or updating in accordance with what is established by the competent body of the autonomous community. But if the energy rating is G, the maximum validity of the certificate is five years.
In accordance with the provisions of Law 8/2013, selling or renting a property without the energy certificate can lead to financial penalties for owners and landlords. The sanctions for the lack of this certificate can be divided into three groups according to the severity of the infraction:
- Do not mention the rating obtained in the property’s sale or rental advertisements: between 300 and 600 euros.
- Not registering the certificate or not certifying the energy efficiency of a home: between 601 and 1.000 euros.
- Falsifying the results of the energy rating: between 1.001 to 6.000 euros.
Users interested in buying or renting must be aware of the importance of having the energy certificate, since the fine could fall on them if they are not previously informed.
