Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

We recommend that estate agents order a new energy certificate as quickly as possible. Even though, under GEG § 87 para. 1, you are only required to include energy performance data in a property listing if a certificate is available at that time, you can only start marketing a property in a meaningful way with a valid energy certificate. At the latest during a viewing, the seller or estate agent must present an energy certificate to interested parties under GEG § 80 para. 4. Also bear in mind that the building efficiency values in the energy certificate influence the property valuation and price negotiations.

Under the German Building Energy Act (GEG), only authorised persons may issue an energy certificate. Authorisation is granted to engineers, architects, physicists, or tradespeople who have successfully qualified in energy-efficient construction through their studies or training. As an estate agent, you commission the creation of energy certificates from an issuer approved throughout Germany. We would be happy to help.

The energy efficiency of a property plays an increasingly important role in purchase or rental decisions, which is why the energy certificate must be presented to prospective tenants and buyers at the latest during a viewing. Good to know: a clearly visible notice or clearly visible display during the viewing is sufficient. In addition, after the purchase contract is concluded, the seller or estate agent must hand over the energy certificate to the buyer without delay, either as the original or as a copy.

The Building Energy Act specifies five mandatory items of information on energy performance indicators that you, as an estate agent, must include in listings and advertisements. You take these details from the valid energy certificate, which you always receive from energyausweis.de as part of our service:

• The type of certificate: consumption-based or demand-based.
• Final energy consumption value or final energy demand value in kWh/(m²a).
• The main energy sources for heating, for example oil or gas.
• The year the building was constructed, as stated in the energy certificate.
• The energy efficiency class, shown on a scale from A+ to H.

For non-residential buildings, the final energy demand in kWh/(m²a) or final energy consumption for heat and electricity must also be stated separately.

For missing or incorrect information in property listings, estate agents face fines of up to 15,000 euros, as confirmed to us by bussgeldkatalog.org. Even though this maximum amount is rarely enforced in practice, the cost of a warning letter is not insignificant. In the past, warnings were frequently sent by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), according to our research. If estate agents violate the disclosure obligations under the Building Energy Act (GEG), this is generally considered a breach of competition law.

Under § 8 UWG, such violations can be challenged by competitors as well as by legal associations such as DUH. Warning fees demanded by associations are around 250 euros. Competitors usually demand reimbursement of legal costs, which amount to roughly 1,000 euros. In addition, there is the threat of contractual penalties ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 euros per violation.

As an estate agent, you can receive warnings both under the Building Energy Act (GEG) and under competition law if a violation can be proven. The following checklist helps you avoid the most common pitfalls in advance:

• The property listing contains all mandatory information on energy performance indicators.
• The information in the listing matches that in the energy certificate.
• The year of construction in the energy certificate matches the year of construction in the general information in the listing.
• Avoid abbreviations for energy performance indicators in property listings, or include at least a legend explaining the abbreviations.
• The certificate is visibly available for presentation at the first viewing appointment.

To support you with the disclosure obligations mentioned above, we always include an overview sheet for estate agents with our energy certificates, listing the mandatory information in a legally compliant form. This saves you time and helps you avoid costly mistakes.

Almost every building needs an energy certificate if it is to be heated or cooled. For newly constructed buildings, a demand-based energy certificate is issued based on the calculated energy characteristics. For existing buildings, a valid certificate is always required when you want to sell or re-let a house or apartment. This also applies to leasehold arrangements and the establishment of heritable building rights.

However, there are also some exceptions. In the following special cases, you are exempt from the certificate requirement:

• Residential buildings intended for use for less than four months per year. This typically applies to holiday homes.
• Listed buildings: buildings designated as historic monuments under state law (under § 105 GEG).
• Small buildings with less than 50 square metres of usable area (under § 104 GEG).
• Buildings that cannot be heated or cooled using energy. Examples include churches, cultural spaces such as glasshouses, or buildings scheduled for demolition.

The legal basis for the energy certificate is the Building Energy Act (GEG), which replaces the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV). After the end of the transition period, all newly issued energy certificates from 1 May 2021 onwards must comply with the requirements of the GEG. In particular, this affects the

• Obligation for estate agents to present an energy certificate.
• Higher duty of care when issuing energy certificates.
• Improved quality of modernisation recommendations.
• Classification of indicators based on primary energy values.
• Mandatory disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions.

Of course, energy certificates commissioned online can also be issued in a legally valid manner. The lower online prices do not reflect lower quality, but rather the fact that data collection is carried out by the owner. This self-service principle saves you several hundred euros per certificate. Our data collection forms for energy certificates are designed so that even non-specialists can provide the data quickly, reliably, and to a high standard. This results in energy certificates that meet the highest quality requirements.

Energy certificates are valid for 10 years. Owners can therefore use an existing energy certificate for new tenants and potential buyers where applicable. A new certificate is required before the 10-year period expires whenever, following changes to the building envelope or an extension, the certificate must be based on the entire building.

You should expect to pay at least 50 euros for an energy certificate. The exact price depends on several factors: the certificate type, the complexity of the building, the effort required to record the various building components, and any additional options offered by the issuer. As a rough guide, for apartments in buildings with up to 5 residential units you can currently expect the following prices: consumption-based: 50 - 80 € (self-service), demand-based: 100 - 200 € (self-service), consumption-based: 200 - 400 € (on-site service), demand-based: 300 - 500 € (on-site service). Cost of an energy certificate

Please see our price list for current prices from energyausweis.de.

Both estate agents and owners must ensure that a valid energy certificate can be presented to prospective buyers and tenants at any time. Accordingly, the seller, landlord, or property manager usually bears the cost of the energy certificate. If you work with an estate agent who is a customer of energyausweis.de, you as the seller or landlord receive the energy certificate free of charge.

As a seller, you normally have to bear the cost of creating the energy certificate. If you are still looking for a way to obtain the energy certificate free of charge, we can tell you a simple option: make your estate agent aware of energyausweis.de. If your estate agent commissions the creation of the energy certificate through our exclusive estate agent service, you as the seller incur no costs. We work exclusively with estate agents who cover the cost of certificate creation for their clients.

In principle, for existing buildings you have a choice and can have either a consumption-based or a demand-based energy certificate issued. An exception applies to residential buildings built before 1978 that have not been energetically renovated since. In these cases, a demand-based energy certificate is mandatory. You also need a demand-based certificate for new buildings or after major modernisation, as no consumption data is available yet. The following graphic summarises all rules on certificate type (GEG § 80).

Because you usually have a choice, you may wonder whether the consumption-based or demand-based energy certificate is more meaningful. Not only the lower cost of the consumption-based certificate, but also the official recommendations of the German Energy Agency (dena) suggest that the demand-based certificate is more informative and therefore preferable to the consumption-based certificate.

To contribute to a more factual discussion, we will once again explain the differences between the two certificate types. While the consumption-based energy certificate is calculated on the basis of heating cost statements from the last three years, the demand-based energy certificate requires the energy characteristics of the building envelope to be calculated based on the existing construction and the materials used. Proponents of the demand-based certificate point out that different user behaviour makes consumption-based certificates harder to compare.

The argument is understandable: a working single person will on average consume less heating energy than a family of four who spend a lot of time at home. However, the disadvantages of the consumption-based certificate can also become an advantage. The demand-based certificate is calculated on the basis of purely theoretical values, so for a meaningful result the building characteristics must be known very precisely. Because this is not always the case in practice, standardised data based on typical material properties from the relevant construction periods inevitably come into play.

To our knowledge, it has not yet been sufficiently studied whether differences in user behaviour or possible deviations in the standardised material properties of the building envelope have a greater impact on the results of the energy certificate. What is clear is that the results of the two certificate types can differ significantly in practice. As an estate agent or owner, it is therefore advisable to choose the certificate with the better efficiency class. At energyausweis.de we therefore developed the Energyausweis Smart™ product, where we calculate both certificate types internally and then issue exactly the certificate type that shows the better values for you.

The most important figures in the energy certificate are exactly those that must also be stated in the property listing. These are the certificate type (consumption-based or demand-based), the final energy indicator in kWh/(m²a), the heating fuels used (for example gas, wood pellets, or electricity), the year the building was constructed, and the energy efficiency class on a scale from A+ to H.

In addition, the energy certificate contains further information about the building, building ventilation and cooling, and whether renewable energy is used. Where possible, the final section of the certificate includes cost-effective renovation suggestions to improve the energy performance of the building. The following overview lists the most important values in the energy certificate: building, energy sources, renewable energy, ventilation/cooling, certificate type, final energy indicator, energy efficiency class, primary energy demand, and modernisation recommendations.

There are many providers on the internet where an energy certificate can be ordered online. Most offers are aimed at owners. Nationwide, only energyausweis.de has specialised in commissioning and managing energy certificates for estate agents. Although we naturally believe that energyausweis.de offers the best service for estate agents, we would still like to introduce two alternatives.

Online providers such as energyausweis.de, which specialise in data collection by owners, create the energy certificate within a few hours. Delays can occur here due to missing or implausible information, which then leads to further enquiries from the issuer. You will need considerably more time if data collection is to be carried out through an on-site inspection by an energy consultant. In that case, you should allow several weeks because of the necessary appointment scheduling.

A new building must meet the efficient house standard under the Building Energy Act and should therefore have an efficiency class in the green range, i.e. class B or better. If you are buying a newer building that is no more than 10 years old, it should at least meet standard D. In older buildings that have not yet been renovated to the latest energy standard, efficiency classes in the red range, i.e. classes F, G, or even H, are common.

A poor energy efficiency class should not put buyers off purchasing a property. Nevertheless, in this case it is advisable to budget for higher heating costs and to factor in the possible cost of energy-related renovation through structural measures or replacing the heating system when buying. In addition, a poor energy efficiency class in the red range provides a good argument for negotiating a lower purchase price.

To improve the energy efficiency of buildings, you need to reduce heat or cooling losses. This is mainly achieved by insulating the building envelope. The following modernisation measures are therefore frequently carried out during energy-related renovation:

• Roof insulation.
• Façade insulation.
• Basement ceiling insulation.
• Replacing windows and doors.
• Replacing the heating system.

Installing a photovoltaic system or solar thermal system does not reduce the building's energy demand, but using renewable energy can lower primary energy demand and improve your environmental footprint. These improvements are reflected in the energy certificate through a more favourable primary energy indicator.