Romania Postpones Introduction Of Mandatory Energy Certification As Of June 15

According to a second press release issued Wednesday by the Development Ministry, the Government has postponed the emergency ordinance draft introducing mandatory energy certification for real estate transactions as of June 15.

The measure was presented last week through a draft normative act, which also stipulated 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 current law states that an energy certificate is required for all real estate transactions, in order to inform the prospective buyer or tenant about the apartment's energetic efficiency.

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 European Parliament recommendations 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.

If you liked this story, please follow MEDIAFAX.RO on FACEBOOK »

The content of mediafax.ro is for your information only. Republishing or using this content is forbidden without express consent of MEDIAFAX. For this consent, please ask for it by mail at vanzari@mediafax.ro.