Even before the EnEV came into force, real estate agents were required to include information about energy performance certificates in property advertisements.
Real estate agents must include information on the energy efficiency of the property in real estate advertisements. This includes, in particular, information on the energy performance certificate, the year of construction of the residential building, the main energy source used for heating the building, the energy efficiency class, and the value of the final energy demand or consumption.
With the introduction of the Building Energy Act (GEG) on November 1, 2020, there will be further adjustments to the information requirements for sellers, landlords, and real estate agents vis-à-vis buyers or tenants. Real estate sellers were already required to present a valid energy performance certificate to prospective buyers at the latest during the viewing. Now, according to § 87 GEG (mandatory information in real estate advertisements), certain information from the energy performance certificate must now be included in real estate advertisements, even if these advertisements are created by a real estate agent. Failure to provide this information may result in a fine, and warnings are also possible.
For real estate advertisements in "commercial media," the following rule generally applies: Information on the energy status of the building must be provided as specified in the energy performance certificate, provided that such a certificate is already available at the time the customer places the order (Section 87 GEG). If no energy performance certificate is available at the outset, it must be obtained at short notice from a competent third party. This is because the real estate agent must be able to present the energy performance certificate to the interested party at the latest when they view the property.
"Commercial media" refers to media that are intended to convey commercial advertising messages, such as:
- Real estate agent websites
- Real estate internet portals
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Shop windows of real estate agencies
The relevant information is specified in § 87 (GEG):
- the type of certificate: energy performance certificate or energy consumption certificate,
- the value of the final energy demand or final energy consumption for the building, based on the living space. For non-residential buildings, this information must be listed separately for heating and electricity.
- the main energy sources used for heating the building,
- for residential buildings: the year of construction stated in the energy performance certificate,
- for residential buildings: the energy efficiency class stated in the energy performance certificate, provided that the energy performance certificate was issued after May 1, 2014.
Since May 1, 2021, stricter rules for energy performance certificates for existing residential buildings have come into force:
- Energy performance certificates issued after this date must also provide information on the CO2 emissions of the property. This applies to both energy demand certificates and energy consumption certificates.
- As with energy performance certificates, energy consumption certificates must now also provide detailed information on the energy quality of the building, including a reference to air conditioning systems that are subject to inspection and the date of the next inspection.
- Photos are now sufficient for the assessment of a property for a consumption certificate if they are suitable for recommending appropriate modernization measures; otherwise, the property must still be inspected on site.
- If the owner provides data for the energy performance certificate, they are responsible for the accuracy of the information. The issuer of the certificate is also obliged to check the data.
If mandatory information is missing or incorrect, fines and warnings may also be imposed.
Therefore, real estate agents should ensure in future that
- all information on energy performance in real estate advertisements is stated correctly – it is therefore advisable to copy the information from the energy performance certificate in full.
- the data from an existing energy performance certificate is already included in the real estate advertisement, regardless of whether it is on the Internet, in a newspaper, or in a shop window,
- the certificate is made available to interested parties at the first viewing appointment, either by handing out a copy or displaying it clearly during the viewing appointment.
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Contributed by:
Stefan J. Kühnafel
Attorney
Specialist lawyer for tenancy and residential property law
https://wir-jennissen.de
