Homeowners will have to pay extra for new energy certificates

Prague - Homeowners will pay tens of thousands of crowns for new energy performance certificates. The certificates will now need to include recommendations on how to save energy specifically. This was stated in the new edition of the magazine Týden. According to it, the change in the appearance of the certificates is due to an amendment to the regulation on the energy efficiency of buildings, which the Ministry of Industry and Trade had to prepare under the threat of sanctions from the European Commission.
    According to the weekly, the ministry has not precisely calculated the impact of the change on the price of the certificates. It predicts that costs will rise by about ten percent on average. However, experts reportedly believe the increase will be higher.
    "If there is a qualified guide on how to reduce heat consumption in the house, a ten percent estimate of the price increase is low," said Evžen Korec from the company Ekospol to Týden. According to him, problems will mainly occur with panel houses, where the price may double. For apartment buildings, the price can currently reach tens of thousands of crowns, depending on their size. For family houses, costs will increase by hundreds to thousands of crowns, Týden reported.
    A spokesperson for the ministry told the magazine that homeowners do not have to change the existing certificates yet. They will be valid for ten years from issuance or until extensive renovations are carried out. These should include, for instance, insulation of buildings, according to the weekly.
    The ministry justifies its proposal for amending the regulation by stating that the European Commission threatens the Czech Republic with a lawsuit and suspension of European subsidies from certain operational funds without the adoption of the change. According to the ministry, the state could lose up to sixty billion crowns if conditions are not met.
    Owners of buildings with an area over 1500 m² are required to have an energy performance certificate starting from January. Owners of apartment buildings, administrative buildings, builders, and owners' associations will only need to process so-called energy labels according to a recent amendment in case of selling or renting these buildings.