ENERGY EFFICIENCY CERTIFICATE

The Spanish Government has approved a Royal Decree based on an European Union directive.

In compliance with the European directives 2002/91/EC and 2010/31/EU, Spain has granted the Royal Decree 235/2013 concerning the basic procedure for certification of energy efficiency or performance of buildings.

Through this new Spanish law all properties for rent for more than four months or for sale, from the 1st of June 2013, will need an Energy Efficiency Certificate. This new law will affect all properties in Spain built before the year 2007. Without this certificate Real Estate Agents will not be able to sell or rent your property.

The EPC does not have to be obtained for properties that have a floor area of less than 50 m2, buildings that are purchased for major renovation or demolition and properties where the rental contract has already been subscribed. Also exempt are industrial, agricultural buildings, such as workshops, and factories not intended for residential uses. It is compulsory that the landlord and the property owners sign a declaration if they consider the property to be exempt.

The certificate will be made by independent company´s specialized in these certificates. These companies do a survey of the property. They calculate the cost for heating and cooling the property and the influence of adjoining properties.Do photos of boilers, heaters, a/c, windows, doors,… The rating will take into account the level of consumption of electricity, water and gas.

The EPC will contain an energy rating for your property according to a scale. 'A' will represent the highest level of efficiency and 'G' the lowest.

If it is discovered that you haven't obtained the necessary certificate there are some stiff penalties. Murcia´s Autonomous Community will have a team of inspectors responsible for checking that the correct certificates have been obtained.

The responsibility lies with the property seller or with the developer in the case of a new property. They are also responsible for the certificate's renewal every 10th year. The original certificate should be presented by the seller to the Real Estate Agent when the property is put up for sale. In the case of a new rental contract, a photocopy should be attached to the contract.

It is possible to get one certificate for a whole building which includes different flats, and for Villas it is possible to base the certificate on the assessment of another similar building, as far as the technician can ensure such correspondence.

If you are buying a property in Spain you should be aware that the original energy performance certificate must be handed over to you, and if you are renting you should be provided with a copy of it. If you are buying, selling, leasing or renting a property in Spain, our firm can advise regarding this.

As for my company Multiservices Mar Menor, as a Real Estate Agent, the Decree stipulates that a property cannot be advertised, promoted in billboards, posters, on the internet and brochures and any way without the current EPC being displayed (article 12, point 2). If my company does not comply with the Decree then I could be facing fines, although this fine is equally applicable to the property owner if they fail to present the EPC.

Multiservices Mar Menor has been approached by a number of companies offering the service to obtain the EPC and I have managed to secure discount rates for our clients based on the size of their property.

Please do not hesitate to ask for a quotation.

ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES

If you are in the position of needing to build, renovate or extend a property you will need to obtain planning permission before you begin. This requires the submission to the local authority, usually a municipal town hall, of an architectural project. Such a project will consist of a written, descriptive report as well as plans.

The architectural project can be divided into phases of:

• Feasibility study
• Sketch design
• Scheme design
• Detail design
• Site supervision
• Final account
• Project documentation leading to the completion certificate
• Etc.

The links which we have built with associated architects enable us to offer a wide range of services beyond construction projects alone: we can now help clients in a variety of transactions with local and regional authorities in securing licenses for all possible land uses and activities, within the process of a change of use, or a new design proposal for some land or property which you may wish to develop.

Should you already have built, renovated or extended and have received a notification from your Town Hall to legalize the works carried out than this architect would help you to procure a building certificate.

This architect provides a comprehensive series of architectural services, and through close contact with the Town Hall of your Municipality he is able to analyse the local building regulations and advise on the impact that these may have on any project that you wish to undertake.

We would be delighted to help you out in this matter.