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The energy performance certificate - an important document for selling a house
If you want to sell your house or apartment, an up-to-date energy performance certificate, which provides information about the energy efficiency of your property, is one of the most important documents of all. Since the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) of 2014, such an energy certificate is mandatory if you want to sell your Sell your property want to sell your property. The most important questions about the energy certificate are explained below.
What is an energy performance certificate?
An energy performance certificate is a document that provides information about the energy efficiency of a house or apartment. It serves to give potential tenants or prospective buyers an idea of the expected energy costs of a property. A distinction is made in the energy pass between the so-called demand certificate and the consumption certificate. These differ primarily in terms of the way in which the data on the energy efficiency of the property is recorded. A demand certificate can therefore not be easily compared with a consumption certificate. Irrespective of this, both energy performance certificates contain information on the primary energy requirement (primary energy consumption in the case of the consumption certificate) and the final energy requirement (energy consumption index). They are therefore essential if you want to sell a property. You can find out exactly what the individual values mean in the explanations below for each type of certificate.
New regulations on energy performance certificates since May 2021
In the fall of 2020, the German government passed the so-called Building Energy Act (GEG), which changes the details of energy certificates in detail. According to this, energy performance certificates must contain the CO2 consumption values of a property for the first time in addition to the energy data when the law comes into force on May 1, 2021. However, the key points for determining energy efficiency will remain the same. In addition, the new law places a greater obligation on owners to provide the issuers of energy performance certificates with correct data. On the other hand, the issuers are required by law to explicitly check the accuracy of the data received. Another change: in addition to sellers and landlords, real estate agents have also had to provide the certificate since May 1.
According to the relevant regulation § 87 para. 1 of the Building Energy Act (GEG), a real estate advertisement must contain the following mandatory information:
The type of energy certificate: energy requirement certificate within the meaning of Section 81 or energy consumption certificate within the meaning of Section 82.
The value of the final energy demand or final energy consumption for the building stated in the energy performance certificate.
The main energy sources for heating the building specified in the energy performance certificate.
In the case of a residential building, the year of construction stated in the energy performance certificate.
In the case of a residential building, the energy efficiency class stated in the energy performance certificate.
Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 emissions) are not explicitly listed here. Of the information in the energy performance certificate, only the value of the final energy requirement must be stated in the real estate advertisement or the exposé. In this respect, the exposés do not have to be supplemented with CO2 emission data subsequently or in the future. A special feature of the consumption certificate is that the CO2 emissions are not calculated. The estate agent does not have to make a calculation himself, nor does he even have to state the CO2 emissions in the advertisement. CO2 emissions can of course still be stated in the advertisement, but this is voluntary and not required by law. Existing energy performance certificates remain valid and do not have to be renewed before they expire 10 years after they were issued.
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The energy performance certificate plays a particularly important role when selling a house: since 2009, it has been a legal requirement to present the certificate to potential buyers without being asked when viewing a property. Since 2014, it has also been a legal requirement that the energy performance certificate is part of the Real estate exposé must be included. If the certificate is missing, this can mean enormous costs for the property seller. A deliberate or negligent omission of the energy certificate can result in a fine of up to A fine of up to 15,000 euros be punished. For this reason, sellers are strongly advised to have the energy performance certificate for house sales drawn up in good time before contacting a real estate agent.
As described above, a distinction is made in the energy performance certificate between the so-called consumption certificate and the demand certificate. Whether one or the other energy certificate is suitable for a property depends on various structural factors. In addition, the certificates also differ in terms of the costs incurred for their creation. We will therefore briefly summarize the most important differences for you below.
The consumption certificate is based on the previous consumption values of the property. In the case of apartment buildings, an average value is calculated from the energy consumption of the individual apartments. The Primary energy consumption of the certificate indicates how much energy is required to achieve a certain level of thermal energy in the house. The carbon dioxide emissions of the energy source used (e.g. solar energy or wood pellets) are also taken into account. The primary energy consumption therefore provides information about the environmental compatibility of the building. The Energy consumption value in turn reflects the real consumption values of the last three years. It therefore allows conclusions to be drawn about the energy costs of the property for this period.
As this data can be collected comparatively quickly and easily, the consumption certificate is the cheaper version of the energy certificate for house sales. The use of the consumption certificate in the real estate exposé is permitted for existing residential buildings that comply with the 1977 Thermal Insulation Ordinance and apartment buildings consisting of at least five residential units.
The requirement certificate describes the theoretical energy requirement of a residential building and is determined in a more complex procedure than the consumption certificate. For this purpose, the entire property is examined with regard to its energy efficiency, with factors such as external insulation, energy-saving windows and the condition of the heating system being included in the assessment. The requirement certificate is relevant for new buildings and buildings that do not comply with the 1977 Thermal Insulation Ordinance. Similar to the consumption certificate, the demand certificate also contains information on Primary energy demandwhich reflects the environmental compatibility of the property. It also provides information on the Final energy requirement. This value is determined on the basis of the factors mentioned above, such as insulation or thermal insulation glazing. Due to the technical report that has to be drawn up for this, the requirement certificate is the more expensive variant of the energy certificate for house sales. As it takes more energy factors into account, the demand certificate is more informative than the consumption certificate.
The energy performance certificate must already be included in the exposé before the house is sold. For this reason, the seller usually bears the costs incurred. However, while sellers generally only have to have the energy performance certificate drawn up once in the course of marketing, landlords are obliged to renew the energy performance certificate at regular intervals when tenants change. However, this only has to be done every 10 years - this is how long a property's energy performance certificate is valid from the date of issue.
The EnEV stipulates which persons are authorized to issue an energy performance certificate for house sales. Accordingly, the following are authorized to issue them
Persons with a professionally qualifying university degree in architecture, interior design, structural engineering, civil engineering, technical building equipment, physics, building physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering or another field of study that focuses on the areas mentioned.
Master craftsmen from the construction, finishing and plant engineering trades and the chimney sweep trade as well as persons who are authorized to practice the aforementioned trades independently without the title of master craftsman.
State-recognized technicians whose training focuses on the assessment of building envelopes, heating and hot water systems or ventilation and air conditioning systems.
persons who are authorized to sign structural engineering certificates for thermal insulation or energy saving in the construction of buildings in accordance with the building regulations of the federal states.
Summary: Which energy certificate do I need?
The following summary shows you which type of energy performance certificate is suitable for you when selling a house:
Consumption certificate:
Valid for:
Existing properties that comply with the 1977 Thermal Insulation Ordinance
Apartment buildings > 5 residential units
Advantages:
simple data collection
cost-effective
Disadvantages
less informative than the requirement certificate
Demand certificate:
Valid for:
New buildings
Buildings that do not comply with the 1977 Thermal Insulation Ordinance
Advantages:
more informative than a consumption certificate
more precise information on energy efficiency
Disadvantages
expensive
complex procedure for data collection
The type of energy performance certificate:
Energy requirement certificate within the meaning of Section 81 or energy consumption certificate within the meaning of Section 82.
The value of the final energy demand or final energy consumption for the building stated in the energy performance certificate.
The main energy sources for heating the building specified in the energy performance certificate.
In the case of a residential building, the year of construction stated in the energy performance certificate.
In the case of a residential building, the energy efficiency class stated in the energy performance certificate.
Persons with a professionally qualifying university degree in architecture, interior design, structural engineering, civil engineering, building services engineering, physics, building physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering or another field of study that focuses on the aforementioned areas.
Master craftsmen from the construction, finishing and plant engineering trades and the chimney sweep trade as well as persons who are authorized to practice the aforementioned trades independently without the title of master craftsman.
State-recognized technicians whose training focuses on the assessment of building envelopes, heating and hot water systems or ventilation and air conditioning systems.
persons who are authorized under the building regulations of the federal states to sign structural engineering certificates of thermal insulation or energy saving during the construction of buildings.
Existing properties that comply with the 1977 Thermal Insulation Ordinance
Whether it is a demand or consumption certificate, the energy certificate is just as important for the sale of your property as the correct marketing. As real estate agents, our experts at Engel & Völkers will be happy to advise you in this regard and make the sale of your apartment, house or villa a success thanks to their excellent market knowledge and exclusive sales opportunities.
If you are planning to sell your property or would simply like to know what it is worth, contact us for a non-binding and free market price assessment of your property.
We look forward to hearing from you.
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