Posted on April 30, 2009 - by admin

Energy Efficiency Certificates In Portugal

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.

However a fact which has not been widely publicised it the certificate, is that it is only valid for six months after it is issued. So therefore if the sale of your house takes more than six months you will be require to have another inspection by a licensed engineer to ensure no further alterations have been made, which can be costly.

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.