ESSENTIAL CLARIFICATIONS REGARDING THE ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE (EPC)
According to a Circular issued by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, as of January 9, 2012, the obligation to issue an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) applies to new lease agreements concerning individual properties or parts thereof, exceeding fifty (50) sq.m., which are used exclusively as residences or business premises and constitute independent horizontal properties.
Pursuant to paragraph 3 of Article 14 of the Regulation on the Energy Performance of Buildings, “in every lease agreement, the EPC protocol number must be stated in the private or notarial lease document. The tax authority shall not validate lease agreements unless a valid EPC is submitted.”
The competent Tax Office (D.O.Y.) will not accept new lease agreements for validation if the EPC protocol number is not indicated therein or if the original or a certified copy of the EPC is not presented for inspection, regardless of the date of signing of the lease agreement.
If either the tenant or the surface area of the leased property changes, this constitutes a new lease agreement and, therefore, the issuance of a new EPC is required.
It is noted that the validity period of the EPC is ten (10) years.