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In
January 2009 Portugal became the latest of the European
countries to adopt the policy of energy efficiency
certification. Every property for sale or rent must have
a certificate prior to it being sold or rented.
This certificate is
issued by the government and declares the energy
efficiency rating of each property so the potential
buyer or seller can chose a more efficient home. However
even though this law has only been in force for less
than three months at the moment of writing, the energy
efficient certificate are proving to be just another
cost to the property owner and a key income to the
government.
The government has
specified a sale or rental of a property will not be
permitted to proceed without proof of this document.
While some more rural notary offices are claiming the
opposite, unfortunately for home owners wishing to sell
or rent be prepared to get your certificate as this is
not the case.
Once certificates have
been prepared they are valid for 10 years.
The main points the
engineers note are whether the property has central
heating, double glazing, interior or exterior shutters,
air conditioning units and whether the property is in an
area deficient of regular sunlight. They will also note
whether the property is displaying areas of damp or
neglect. However unlike a survey, which buyers in the
United Kingdom are use to, which identifies all key
points, this simply denotes what insulation and energy
saving items are currently in situ. then an energy
rating is awarded to the property, much like a fridge or
freezer.
In the long term these
energy efficiency ratings will be worthwhile, however at
the present moment in a country with so many properties
deficient of basic amenities there is no rhyme or reason
to the costing to them.
The cost to have an
energy efficiency survey carried out is not simple. The
costing depends upon the size of the property and the
location in which it is set. Ruins, which are self
evident of being the least energy efficient properties
simply by their category, are still incorporated into
the scheme.
If you are currently
in the process of selling your property it is pertinent
to note, until you have an offer on your property it is
not worth investing in an energy efficiency certificate
as you may find you have to have the process repeated on
several occasions at significant cost to yourself. An
energy efficient certificate does not add value to your
property, it is simply another tax by the government,
which in the much longer term will have value.
To gain an energy
efficiency certificate is a simple procedure and one
which your estate agent will be fully familiar with. The
engineer takes approximately one week to compile the
data - with a visit to your property, then after a
report is sent to the central government and the
appropriate funds given, the certificate is issued, but
only with a six month validity date. |
