• ENERGY CERTIFICATE

    Energy certificateis a document currently required by anyone who wants to sell or rent real estate. It is an important step in the process of reducing energy consumption and reducing its negative impact on the natural environment.

    What is an energy certificate?

    An energy performance certificate, also known as an energy certificate, is a specialized document containing information about a given building or its part, specifying the total energy demand necessary for its intended use - for example by heating water, space heating, lighting or air conditioning. These include an appropriate set of energy data and indicators.

    The document also contains recommendations on improving the energy efficiency of the building, which will help reduce the existing energy demand, which will reduce costs and have a positive impact on the natural environment.

    Thanks to the energy certificate, the owner, tenant or user of the propertycan determine its approximate annual energy demand. This, in turn, allows for efficient and quick determination of the resulting cost of its maintenance in this respect.

    The official purpose of the certificate is to promote energy-efficient construction and increase public awareness of the possibilities of energy savings in buildings.

    It should be added that all issues related to the energy certificate are regulated by the Act of August 29, 2014 on the energy performance of buildings (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2021, item 497, as amended).

    When is an energy certificate issued?

    The obligation to provide an energy certificate rests with every owner or manager of a building or part of it, as well as the person who has a cooperative ownership or tenant right to the premises, if they are:

    • sold under a sales contract, or
    • sold on the basis of an agreement for the sale of cooperative ownership rights to the premises, or
    • rented.

    Therefore, the above-mentioned persons are obliged to order the preparation of the certificate in order to forward it to the buyer or tenant, and it may concern all or part of the building. Importantly, these entities do not have the right to waive their rights.

    The certificate itself is provided when preparing a notarial deed containing a sales agreement or when concluding a lease agreement.This fact is recorded by the notary in the notarial deed he prepares. If the certificate was not handed over to the entitled person, he or she informs the obligated person about the fine he or she may face in this respect.

    Pursuant to the provisions of the Construction Law, every investor is also obliged to provide a certificate before submitting a notice of completion of the construction of a building or submitting an application for a permit to use it. He must attach them to the above-mentioned documents. Only houses with a building area of up to 70 m2 built to meet their own housing needs are exempt from this obligation.

    It should be noted that the Polish legislator has introduced the obligation to place the certificate in a visible place for buildings:

    • with a usable area exceeding 250 m2 occupied by judicial authorities, prosecutor's offices and public administration bodies and where customer service is provided,
    • with a usable area exceeding 500 m2, where services are provided to the public.

    Explanation of basic concepts

    Before I move on to further description of other issues related to the energy certificate, it is necessary to explain the basic concepts related to it. And yes:

    • "building" - a building that is permanently attached to the ground, separated from space by building partitions, and has foundations and a roof. Polish law also distinguishes the concept of a "single-family residential building", which is a detached building or a semi-detached, terraced or group building, used to meet housing needs, constituting a structurally independent whole, in which it is allowed to separate no more than two residential premises or one residential premises. and commercial premises with a total area not exceeding 30% of the total area of the building,
    • "part of a building" is a set of rooms in a building with the same purpose, intended for separate use. In particular, this concept includes residential or commercial premises located in a given building,
    • "independent residential premises" is a room or a set of rooms separated by permanent walls within a building intended for permanent stay of people, which, together with auxiliary rooms, serve to meet their housing needs,
    • "commercial premises" is a room or a set of rooms separated by permanent walls within a building, intended for permanent stay of people, which, together with auxiliary rooms, are used for non-residential purposes.

    When is there no obligation to prepare an energy certificate?

    The obligation to prepare a certificate does not apply to buildings:

    • subject to protection under the provisions on the protection and care of monuments,
    • used as a place of worship and for religious activities,
    • industrial and farm buildings not equipped with energy-consuming installations, excluding built-in lighting installations,
    • residential, intended for use no longer than 4 months a year,
    • detached houses with a usable area of less than 50 m2,
    • farms with an EP index specifying the annual calculated demand for non-renewable primary energy not higher than 50 kWh/(m2 per year).

    In what form is the energy certificate prepared?

    The energy certificate is provided to the authorized person in the form of:

    • paper – bearing the number assigned in the central register of energy performance of buildings and the personal signature of the authorized person,
    • electronic - bearing a number assigned in the central register of energy performance of buildings and a qualified electronic signature, trusted signature or personal signature of an authorized person.

    What does an energy certificate contain?

    The energy performance certificate is prepared on the basis of an appropriate methodology for determining the energy performance of a building or its part, taking into account the technical parameters of its structure and installation, as well as the heat source supplying it.

    Pursuant to applicable legal regulations, the energy performance certificate contains:

    • identification data of the building or part of the building,
    • energy performance of the building or part of the building,
    • recommendations specifying the scope and type of construction and installation works that will improve the energy performance of the building or part of the building,

    • a statement by the person who prepared the energy performance certificate that the document was generated from the central register of energy performance of buildings.

    The latter is submitted under pain of criminal liability for making false statements.

    Who prepares the energy certificate?

    Only persons who have been entered into a special list constituting part of the central register of energy performance of buildings are authorized to prepare energy performance certificates. It is run by the Minister responsible for construction, spatial planning and development, and housing.

    Of course, in order to be included on the indicated list, it is necessary to meet strict requirements, which include:

    • having full legal capacity,
    • lack of conviction by a final judgment for a crime against property, credibility of documents, business transactions, money and securities transactions or for a fiscal crime,


    • completion of higher education and postgraduate studies with an appropriate profile,
    • possession of construction licenses.

    How long is the energy certificate valid?

    The energy performance certificate is valid for ten years from the date on which it was issued. The contractor must keep them for this period.

    However, it should be remembered that it expires before this deadline if construction and installation works have been carried out, as a result of which the energy characteristics of the building or its parts have changed, thus affecting the amount of energy consumption. In particular, this applies to modifications including, for example, replacing windows or heat sources, as well as insulating a given property.

    Advertising obligations

    In accordance with applicable regulations, if an energy performance certificate has been prepared for a building or part of a building, the announcement or advertisement regarding its sale or lease should include:

    • indicators of annual demand for usable energy, final energy, non-renewable primary energy,
    • share of renewable energy sources in the annual final energy demand,
    • unit amount of CO2 emissions.

    How much does an energy certificate cost?

    It is difficult to answer this question unequivocally. This depends on the individual price list of the specialist who is authorized to prepare it. These shapes are very different.

    A review of price lists shows that it is necessary to pay from PLN 500 to even PLN 1,500 to obtain an energy performance certificate. The upper limit, of course, applies to Warsaw. In slightly smaller cities, such as Kraków, Wrocław, Gdańsk or Poznań, this type of service costs from PLN 800 to PLN 1,000. In other towns, you can get a certificate for approximately PLN 500-700.

    In our office, we enable you to obtain an energy certificate quickly and at an attractive price. If you need more information about it, please contact us.

    Below is the link to generate a certificate with a discount code:

    >>>>>Energy Certificate with discount code<<<<< Click!

    What are the penalties for not having an energy certificate?

    If a person who is obliged to provide an energy certificate fails to fulfill this obligation, he or she commits an offense and is subject to a fine. It is awarded by the court in the amount from twenty to five thousand zlotys. The same penalty shall be imposed on a person who prepared the certificate without having the appropriate qualifications or was not entered on the ministerial list.