Romania To Introduce Mandatory Energy Certification As Of June 15

The draft normative act also stipulates that building transaction pre-contracts signed before the emergency decree enters force will carry on as per the provisions of the current law.

According to the normative act, by April 30, 2010, 767 experts had been granted authorization to perform energy audits for 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 5-10% price hikes for old buildings and a blockage of the country’s real estate market.

Afterwards, Romania learnt it must observe the recommendations issued by the European Parliament and implement energy certificates starting March 1, 2010.

The Cabinet deferred the decision to introduce energy certificates starting March 1, saying the procedures to implement the system were not clear enough and the country lacked the required number of energy auditors.

People close to the matter told MEDIAFAX at the time that the Government would ask the European Commission for derogation from the EU directive until June.