Energy Performance Certificates

charliegill11 · Post by **charliegill11** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 10:17 am

I was reading an article yesterday which stated that with effect from the 1st January 2009 all properties in Portugal which were offered either for sale or to rent had to have an energy performance certificate. It did not matter whether the property was let for short or long term.
I presume that these are exactly the same as the ones in the UK - who is able to produce them and how much are these going to cost.
I would imagine that these will be read as frequently as they are in the UK and that failure to have one in place will lead to fines. Will the local Camera be policing this or is there the equivalent of Trading Standards in Portugal.

Richardt · Post by **Richardt** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 6:41 pm

I have been told the same as you have read by our managing agent and they have quoted us 500 euros plus IVA.( 3 bed villa or larger)
Can anybody recommend a company how can give us a quote.

DaveK · Post by **DaveK** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 8:13 pm

That seems exceptionally high as reports in the UK vary between £50 and £70. The information within the reports must be the same if it is to comply with EU rules and regulations.

It would be interesting to see if a UK trained inspector could carry out the work abroad.

biffa · Post by **biffa** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:51 pm

This is not a rental issue like the Al deal. The idea is you will not be able to sell a property infuture if it doesn't have one

BONDI · Post by **BONDI** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:22 pm

Thanks Biffa,for throwing some light on this matter, glad to see you are still on top of these kind of things. Keep up the good work.

Bondi

Richardt · Post by **Richardt** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 9:41 am

Our managing agents email suggests we need one to rent.
I know in the UK they are needed for the sale of a house but you need one to let or Sell a commercial property in Uk.
I assume the rules are different in Portugal.
Does anybody have details of a local assessor?

Gambrinus · Post by **Gambrinus** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:27 am

As I understand it, every house/unit needs an energy certificate, independently of wether or not it is rented.

If it is only a rating of the property, ie a piece of paper that says excellent/good/sufficient/bad, I cannot imagine it will cost the world, but here again supply and demand will affect the price. Will need to gather some more info before I can comment further on cost matters.

Farol · Post by **Farol** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:52 am

Have a look here, it is the main portal covering the scheme:

http://www.adene.pt/ADENE/Canais/SubPor ... C3%A3o.htm

SJ & RE · Post by **SJ & RE** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 1:24 pm

In regards to the Energy Efficient ruling in the UK.
If you rent out a property from Oct 1st 2008 you require a certified check of your electricity components in the property.Not a requirement if the house is already rented out, however when new tenants are to be placed then this check needs to be completed. An annual certified check on all gas appliances/ boilers etc has been in place since 1998 for all rental properties.
Energy efficient checks to be implemented on all properties for sale next year and again prior to new rental agreements. If there is no change of circumstance then no need.

biffa · Post by **biffa** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 2:01 pm

Whilst the legislation mentions rented property we don't think it applies to tourist lets. If it did (and this was passed in 2006) surely the AL licence application would have insisted on presentation of a energy certificate? We think it only applies to long term contractual letting but are trying to get opinion. The technical people offering the service are charging whopping fees ranging from Euros 250 + IVA for small apartment to Euros 1,000 + IVA for house over 500 sq mtres. It is all based on size of property. Add to this another Euros4 5 + IVA to get the actual certificate from ADENE!!

As with everything here is Portugal going from 8 to 80 in one foul swoop.

biffa · Post by **biffa** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 3:13 pm

We have found another more reasonable "tecnico" whose fees range between Euros 165 + IVA to Euros340 + IVA - both plus Euros45 + IVA for the famous certificate!

Richardt · Post by **Richardt** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:25 pm

I have today spoken with our managing agent and he is adamant we need a EPC to let short term.
Do you have any more info regarding "tecnico" you could provide please biffa?

Gambrinus · Post by **Gambrinus** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:09 am

The regulation is pretty clear about the certificate needing to be in place for rental and sale and I can't find any limitations to this rule regarding rental terms.

Granted, our tourist rental schemes are contractually different to a long-term let, but after watching the government manufacture reason after reason to issue fines to people in this market sector, I would not recommend putting their resolve to make money to the test on this matter.

The certificate is a requirement for sale anyway and it will be vaild for 10 years, so provided you can get a certified engineer to issue this for a reasonable price (€150 to €350 plus the € 45 form fee seems like a realistic ballpark figure), I would recommend acquiring it.

Gambrinus · Post by **Gambrinus** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:15 am

Hang on a minute, are we talking about two different things here?

The energy performance certificate has nothing to do with the electrical infrastructure certificate, which is much like the gas infrastructure certificate, a certification of the materials used in the electrical installation of a house.

That is a separate topic alltogether and indeed much more costly than the energy performance certificate.

BONDI · Post by **BONDI** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 7:56 pm

Richardt.
My understanding in this matter, keeping in mind EU Directive in this matter, applies to all EU Countries, and as in UK this clearly states that this law will apply to new builds after Jan 2009, and properties Sold AFTER Jan 2009, I suggest you really should look into this matter further. i am following Portuguese media on this too,and this does NOT apply to exisiting properties, ONLY NEW BUILTS and the ones sold, after Jan 2009.