ChiFRA

Written by Lesley McEwan

From 1 June 2013, it will be obligatory for any property offered for rental or sale to have an Energy Efficiency Certificate.  The certificate is required for any property which is rented out for more than 4 months per year or properties offered for sale.

This certificate is already in place in other EU countries such as the UK and aims to give clear and easily understood facts about the energy efficiency of one property against another.  This information will be of particular interest to property buyers and clients wishing to rent.

A poor energy rating will not mean that the property cannot be sold or rented and while the certificate will make suggestions as to how the energy rating could be improved, it will not be compulsory to make those alterations to your home.

The certificate can only be issued by authorised and qualified professional technicians, who will be required to visit the property to take measurements and gather information to produce the certificate.  The process is a little complicated with many aspects having to be measured, assessed and calculated. The certificate will last for 10 years once issued.

We are currently speaking with such a company and can now organise the certificate on behalf of clients.

The prices for the certificate including our administration fee starts at 180€ plus IVA for a property up to 80M2 and goes up in increments to 380€ plus IVA for a 300M2 property.  Larger properties would be quoted for individually.

There are a few exceptions which do not need a certificate such as properties of under 50M2, places of worship and protected monuments but if you own a private dwelling and you want to sell or rent it then you need a certificate. The fines for failure to comply range from 3,000 euros to 600,000 euros.