Whilst the last two months have been extraordinarily busy for us at Ultimate Homes, the Spanish Government announced on April 5th via their Boletín Oficial del Estado that the much-mentioned energy certificate or the "Certificado de Eficiencia Energética" would now be obligatory for all properties for sale or for rent with effect from the 1st June 2013.
These Certificates provide an energy efficiency rating for properties, with the rating graded from A to G (with A being the top rating for a very energy efficient home and G for the least efficient property). Energy Efficiency Certificates in Spain can only be obtained though properly qualified and registered energy efficiency assessors. These are architects, engineers or qualified technicians, who have completed the relevant Spanish government course and who have then been certified to carry out the work involved in investigating a property for its energy efficiency. Only they will be able to issue an Energy Efficiency Certificate (which will be valid for 10 years).
Of course, it goes without saying that you must only use a properly qualified and certified assessor, should you need to obtain an Energy Efficiency Certificate in Spain. And for that reason we have collaborated with a respected architect and surveying firm who will be able to provide these certificates in a fast and efficient manner, and at the same time ensuring that each property has all the relevant papers so that we can continue to offer the property for sale.
Equally, vendors can obtain the certificate themselves but must check carefully to ensure that your chosen technician really is certified to do the work, as there is every likelihood un-certified ‘technicians’ may try to benefit from the huge amount of work that will need to be done to certify every property for sale or rent in Spain.
What is without a doubt now is that the Energy Efficiency Certificate is obligatory, with very significant fines for anyone trying to sell or rent a property without a valid Energy Efficiency Certificate. Indeed, any contract for sale (which are hard to come by at the moment if you are a private seller) may be invalidated! However, there seems to be an exemption for rental properties, if they are to be rented for less than 4 months a year.
The cost of obtaining an Energy Efficiency Certificate will depend on the size of the property, with prices starting at around 250 Euros plus IVA.
With the vast number of properties for sale it will be interesting to see whether many of those same properties will still be for sale after June 1st, with the real possibility of a fine if an energy certificate cannot be produced. There will certainly be lots of confusion over the summer months that is for sure.
For more information, or to arrange a consultation contact us here
