The energy efficiency certificate is mandatory for buildings, homes and premises that are put up for sale or rent, as well as for newly built buildings. The energy efficiency certificate is a document that describes the energy performance of a home, taking into account the energy consumption and CO2 emissions that this consumption produces. It is accompanied by an energy label that classifies buildings on a seven-letter scale, from A to G, in which the letter G corresponds to the least efficient and A to the most efficient.
WHAT HAS TO BE CERTIFIED?
• Newly buit buildings
• Buildings or parts of buildings that are sold or rented to a new owner or tenant.
• Buildings or parts of buildings occupied by a public authority and frequented by the public, with a total usable area of more than 250 m2.
Exemptions: You can find the list of cases excluded from the certification requirement on the ICAEN website. The exemption must be requested through the Procedures Office.
WHO MUST APPLY FOR THE CERTIFICATE?
• The owner of the building, home or premises that is sold or rented.
• The developer of the newly built building. Real Estate agencies must include the energy label in all offers, promotions and advertising of the properties they put up for sale.
HOW ARE THE CERTIFICATE AND LABEL OBTAINED?
• A certifying technician evaluates the energy performance of the building, obtains the certificate and enters it in the register.
• The Catalan Energy Institute issues the energy label.
• The certifying technician delivers the certificate and label to the landlord. The landlord is required to deliver the original certificate and label to the new landlord in the event of a sale, or a copy to the tenant in the event of a lease.
HOW TO IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN A BUILDING
The certificate includes a document of recommendations indicating the actions that can be taken to improve energy efficiency, such as:
• Insulation of facades and / or roof.
• Renovation of windows.
• Optimization of facilities.
• Improvement of lighting in buildings in the tertiary sector, such as offices, shops, etc.
WHAT VALIDITY DOES IT HAVE?
• The energy efficiency certificate and the corresponding label are valid for 10 years. However, it can be renewed voluntarily if new efficiency measures are adopted in the building, home or premises that could improve its rating.
The certificate of habitabilityis an administrative document that certifies that a home is suitable to be used as a residence for people and has the technical conditions of habitability, according to current regulations.
It can be requested by the homeowner, administrator or an authorized representative.
It is necessary for:
Transfer a home for sale, rent or assignment of use, in the first transfer or in subsequent transmissions.
Sign up for water, electricity, gas, telecommunications and other services.
Types of certificates: there are 3 types depending on the age of the home:
First use: for newly built homes or when the building has been emptied, leaving only the façade.
Of first occupation of rehabilitation: for houses resulting from an intervention or great rehabilitation (subdivisions, change of use to create a house, emptying of the house, extensions, etc.).
Of second occupation: for houses that already exist.
Validity: varies depending on the year in which the certificate was approved:
New / used housing certificates issued before 2004: 10 years.
New / used housing certificates issued between 2004 and 2012: 15 years.
Certificates granted from 2013: for first-occupancy housing the validity is 25 years, and for rehabilitation and second occupation, 15.
