In Portugal, it is now prohibited to sell or rent a house without an energy certificate. This is exactly what the website of the Energy Certification System managed by ADENE states: “The energy certificate is mandatory for the conclusion of sales and rental contracts for buildings, including leases, in which cases the owner must present the energy certificate to the potential buyer, tenant, or lessee.” It is also mandatory for new buildings and certain rehabilitation cases.
However, the new directive will not prevent owners from selling or renting their house if they do not have a specific energy rating. “Brussels will not tell families that they cannot sell their house if it is not renovated and no one will confiscate the house if it is not rehabilitated,” made clear the Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, about a year ago. In other words, the proposal does not contain any prohibition on selling or renting buildings with the lowest energy rating (G), which covers about 15% of buildings identified as having the worst energy efficiency in each country.
