Spain's energy certificates are changing: what homeowners need to check

What the September update covers

MITECO's information note dated 25 March 2026 describes new energy label templates for buildings at the design stage, completed buildings and existing buildings. It also updates the certificate template, adding annex V for details of the professional who certifies the property. Technical documents and electronic formats are being adapted too.

These changes concern the certification procedure and the documents used to support it. They do not establish every obligation that might apply to a future sale, rental or renovation. To understand what your own transaction requires, check the relevant rules and the procedure used in your comunidad autónoma, or autonomous region. General headlines about European building policy cannot settle that question.

Official source: MITECO · Documentos reconocidos · MITECO · Nota informativa, 25/03/2026 (PDF)

Tell the certifier why you need the document

A certificate may be needed to sell or rent out a property, document an energy improvement or support a Spanish tax deduction. These are different processes, and the certificate does not replace the rest of the required paperwork. Explain the project before asking for a price. For example: you plan to replace the windows and want to establish whether the work could meet the requirements for an energy-efficiency deduction. That gives the professional a specific requirement to assess.

If you need evidence of the property's condition before and after renovation, agree the sequence before any work starts. Ordering all the documents after the windows have been replaced may leave you without the required evidence of the earlier condition. Photographs and invoices are useful records, but they cannot stand in for a certificate where a particular scheme expressly requires one.

Official source: AEAT · Deducciones por eficiencia energética

Check what the fee includes

Ask for a written quote covering the property visit, measurements and data collection, preparation of the certificate and delivery of the documents. Find out whether the professional will also register it with the regional authority and whether any registration fees are included. A price described simply as an energy certificate may leave you to arrange and pay for some of those steps separately.

Gather the property's referencia catastral, its official cadastral reference, along with any plans and records of earlier renovations. Details of the windows, insulation, heating and other installations help establish what is actually in the home. If a specification is unknown, say so. Ask what evidence could clarify it and how uncertainty will be treated; do not supply a more favourable specification just to obtain a better rating.

• Which procedure and document versions will apply when the certificate is issued?
• What property visit and checks does the quote cover?
• Who will arrange regional registration, and how will I receive confirmation?
• Which records will I need for this sale, rental, grant or tax deduction?
• What should we review if the work or issue date changes?

Use the rating alongside your actual energy use

An energy rating describes the property under a defined assessment procedure. It is not a forecast of the amount you will pay on your next bill. Two households in the same building can spend quite different amounts because they heat different rooms, choose different temperatures and are at home at different times. Keep the certificate's rating, your recorded energy use and the cost of proposed improvements separate when weighing up a renovation.

Suppose you receive one proposal to replace the heating system and another to improve the walls, roof or windows. Ask which energy indicator each would improve and what information about the property supports that assessment. Include any additional work needed to make the proposal function properly. The useful choice is the one that suits your home and works with your other plans, as well as meeting any rating target you need to achieve.

Choose the timing around your plans

The changeover date alone is not a reason to rush or delay. If a sale, rental or application is approaching, give the certifier the dates and confirm which documents will be accepted. If you are planning energy improvements, obtaining the required certificate before work begins may be more pressing than waiting for the updated template.

If you already have a certificate, check its validity and suitability with the professional and the responsible regional authority before paying for a replacement. The property's current characteristics and your intended use matter. This guide reflects the source information consulted on 15 September 2026; any later changes to the rules should be checked when arranging the work.

Official source: MITECO · Documentos reconocidos