When planning to buy a property in Spain, it is worth knowing what a CEE certificate is

When planning to buy real estate in Spain, it is worth knowing what a CEE certificate is. Buyers who buy real estate in Spain inevitably come across a document called Certificado de Eficiencia Energetica (CEE). What is it, what is it for and is it mandatory to have it? Certificado de Eficiencia Energetica (CEE) is a certificate of energy efficiency of real estate. Its presence indicates that the operation of the building is carried out taking into account certain criteria, thereby ensuring reduced carbon dioxide emissions. The need to issue such documents is dictated by the Kyoto Agreement, in which participating countries have committed to reducing the production of gases that cause the greenhouse effect. Based on the adopted standards, each building in Spain, after certain tests, is assigned a category from A to G, where A is extremely high efficiency, G is partial inefficiency. Buyers of real estate need to understand: the result of such a test does not oblige the owner of the house to change anything. But if he does listen to the advice of experts and makes certain improvements, they can help him save significant amounts on the operation of the home in the future. The most far-sighted buyers have already begun to pay attention to whether the property has an energy efficiency certificate when choosing a property. The fact is that the presence or absence of such a certificate can affect both the purchase price and the cost of operating the property in the future. Most buildings built in Spain before 2000 do not have an insulation system that would allow us to talk about a high level of energy efficiency. And those property owners who want to get a high rating according to the requirements of this certification must spend a certain amount of money on the appropriate improvements. Otherwise, buyers can use the lack of a certificate to their advantage, insisting on a price reduction. On the other hand, a seller who has spared no expense on insulation and obtaining a certificate can expect to sell his property at a higher price. After all, the maintenance of energy-efficient housing is significantly cheaper. Energy efficiency certification also affects those who are going to rent out their housing. According to the regulations in force in Spain, if the rental period of a property exceeds 4 months, the issuance of a CEE certificate is mandatory. Those who were already renting out their property at the time this requirement was introduced do not have to obtain a certificate. However, this will have to be done when the tenant changes. Property owners who are trying to avoid this requirement should be aware that if they refuse to provide certificate details to future tenants, the rental agreement will be cancelled. In such cases, the owner of the property will usually be fined. Therefore, anyone planning to rent out their property should definitely take care of issuing a certificate. Those planning to sell their property in Spain must obtain a CEE certificate before posting an advert for sale. Since 2013, all realtors are required to check for the certificate for all properties they sell. Otherwise, the already concluded transaction will be considered invalid, and the potential buyer can even demand monetary compensation from the seller. It is also possible that both the owner of the property and the realtor will be fined. The tests, after which a conclusion can be made about the level of energy efficiency of the home, are carried out by specialists from the relevant service. Obtaining such a certificate costs 300 euros, but, as can be judged from the above, it is often not possible to avoid such expenses. If, after receiving the certificate, the owner of the property has made any changes that affect the energy efficiency indicators of his home, he can re-take the test to improve his indicators.