New Law confirms "Obligations and Fines"

PUBLISHED IN the Official Gazette of the Spanish Government (BOE) on 27th June 2013 is the boletin confirming "Obligations and Fines" for offences relating to the Royal Decree. 

The article proclaims financial penalties as law, with fines to be imposed by the local government bodies based on three level of offenses:

• Minor offenses, a fine of 300-600 euros.
• Serious offenses, a fine of 601-1000 euros.
• Very serious offenses, a fine of 1001-6000 euros.

You won't get one of these .....

unless you have one of these .....

..... an authorised Architect

MEET ASIER, "Our Man in Torrevieja". Asier qualified with top honours in architecture. He is a member of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Alicante (colegio oficial member number 10287). An Architect must possess a membership to a Spanish official college in order to legally offer their professional services. Asier is fully authorised to issue the Energy Efficiency Certificate.

Valencia now accepting certificates for registration

DISINFORMATION AND chaos would be a fair description of the state of the new Energy Efficiency Certificate saga in Spain at the moment… un poco loco!

Government fast tracking, contradictions and confusing points in the legislation, software issues, along with the scams and cheap certificates have all contributed to the mayhem. Some real estate agents are refusing to do anything “until the situation calms down,” and one could justify being sympathetic to that claim. Many people do not understand whether or not they need the certificate, whilst others consider the certificate as another tax, and just another way of squeezing money. Consequently a slow-down has occurred which is forecast to have had a negative affect on the national property sales figures for June.

However, those wanting to abide by the law and not wishing to put themselves in a position whereby the sale of their property may default should persevere and obtain an Energy Efficiency Certificate from a trustworthy source.

After initial delays, Valencia is now accepting EECs for registration at the government authorised agency, AVEN – Murcia is covered in a previous post. - The registration can be applied for online or in person and currently is free. 

The certification process of a building is not fully complete until the EEC is registered. No building or part of a building, according to the new property law, may be sold or rented without having previously registered the EEC in the Register of Certified Energy Performance of Buildings. It is the obligation of the developer or owner of the building to register the certificate.

energy label

Once the certificate has been issued it is necessary to register it with the appropriate agency of the Autonomous Community. Procedure may vary, and not all regional governments have designated an authorised agency. Some regions may require a fee, expected to be in the region of €30. Registration may be delegated to a third party.

When the registration is approved, an energy label is issued and should be attached to the certificate. The energy label summarises the information contained in the certificate and is for the purpose of display. It should then be made available to real estate agents, prospective buyers or tenants and displayed with all marketing of the property.

It is vital that the EEC has been issued by an authorised architect or engineer otherwise penalties will apply resulting in fines. So, beware of scams and cheap certificates.