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AS climate change accelerates and Spain faces increasing concerns over drought and heat, the EU is finally amending its energy efficiency laws. In a sensible bid to make buildings more carbon neutral the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) has recently been passed in Brussels.

It is getting difficult to sell energy inefficient homes

However, while broadly good news for Europe, it could cause problems for people wanting to sell or rent their property in Spain, by making energy rating requirements more demanding.

But let me make this clear: The EPBD legislation isn’t new. It was first introduced in 2002 and has been updated several times since then - most recently in 2018.

As anyone who has bought, sold, or rented aty in Spain will know, all buildings have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when constructed, sold, or leased. And if you were recently selling you needed a visit from a property professional, such as a surveyor, who could assess your building and provide the relevant certification.

The EPC rates energy efficiency on a scale from A to G, with A being the most energy-efficient and G the least.

It considers a range of factors including insulation, heating, ventilation, and lighting.

The plan is to make all existing residential buildings net-zero by 2050.

The ruling proposes that all existing homes should be renovated to meet a minimum energy performance standard of F by 2030 and E by 2033.

Currently, though, in Spain, particularly in the countryside, many are more likely to achieve a G rating, particularly those draughty cortijos and fincas Should owners be concerned, given a ban on renting property that is ‘energy-intensive’ already exists in France? And in Belgium, owners who don’t upgrade now face fines.

Standardising the ratings

Europe wants to standardise energy ratings meaning the worst performers, category G properties, represent the 15% of worst-performing buildings in each country.

The scheme was first proposed in December 2021 – after eight building renovation strategies submitted by member states fell short of the EC’s requirements.

Estate agent, Mathew Wood, based in Granada, estimates ‘around 80% of Spain’s housing stock won’t comply’. Clearly, this is problematic for Spain – especially when these schemes are introduced with insufficient advance publicity.

It’s no surprise then, that there are already calls for a raft of exemptions and tweaks for older properties.

The impact in Spain

Unless exemptions are made, the potential impact here and particularly in rural areas, is going to be significant. Think of the thousands of fincas and townhouses, particularly holiday homes, built to poor standards.

The old housing stock was constructed without energy efficiency in mind and as a result, properties are likely to get a low EPC rating (G). There are other issues. For example, who would be responsible for the costly expensive upgrade in the case of inheriting a home? Currently that would fall on the inheritors to cough up before selling. Over time, owners are likely to find it increasingly difficult to sell energy-inefficient homes, as buyers become alarmed by resale worries.