Romania Might Introduce Mandatory Energy Certification For Buildings In Two Mos – Tourism Min

„We will introduce energy certificates in two months. We haven’t been able to implement them by now as we lacked the needed number of energy auditors and we feared we might block the real estate market,” Udrea said at the Mediafax Talks about Construction conference.

Udrea said in February she hopes the Government can implement mandatory energy certification for buildings in one month due to faster energy efficiency calculation procedures and an increasing number of energy auditors.

Development Ministry state secretary Ioan Andreica said afterwards that Romania is likely to introduce mandatory energy certification for buildings as of March 30, adding the ministry will propose to exempt thermally rehabilitated buildings.

The law on energy certification states that an energy certificate is required for all real estate transactions. The certificate tells the prospective buyer or tenant about the apartment’s energetic efficiency, expressed generally through the total yearly energy consumption, in kilowatts per hour per square meter, integrating it into an energetic class (from the A- high-efficiency class to the G- low efficiency class).

The law was supposed to become effective on January 1, 2010, but the Government decided in December to postpone it for January next year after notaries warned mandatory certification would lead to 5% to 10% price hikes for old buildings and would block the country’s real estate market.

Most buildings in Romania fall into the C and D efficiency classes, with annual energy consumption of over 200 kilowatts per square meter. According to an emergency decree passed last year, the government targets annual energy consumption at less than 100 kilowatts per square meter.

Energy certificates are valid for ten years and are issued by certified energy auditors.