Is a house with a low energy label in Spain unsellable?

A house with a low energy label is unsellable and unrentable. You read it everywhere and people tense right up. But honestly, folks, there is really no need.

Contents

• Which energy label do you need, and when?
• The measures that gain you the most
• Do you need a building permit? Obra Mayor vs Obra Menor
• How this differs from the Netherlands
• What an energy audit involves in practice
• Quick wins
• Stressing about selling or letting?

Just as in the Netherlands, the energy label shows how efficient your home is and runs from A (very efficient) to G (very inefficient). Since 2013 you have been required to hold a valid energy label when you sell or let a Spanish property. But stricter European rules are on the way. From 1 January 2030 every home must have at least energy label E, and from 1 January 2033 at least label D, in order to be sold or let. Without the right label you will simply not be able to transfer or rent out the property officially. But look, a D or an E is not an A label. There really are a number of quick wins to be had. It is only the late elderly lady whose heirs want to sell the house where things get a bit trickier.

Which energy label do you need, and when?

• Selling and letting: a valid label has been compulsory since 2013. You have to show the current label at every sale or letting.
• By 2030: homes may only be sold or let if they have at least label E or above
• From 2033: this gets stricter: from then on at least label D is required
• Validity of the label: the energy label you are issued is generally valid for 10 years (except a G, which has to be renewed after 5 years)

It comes down to this: making your home more efficient in good time is a must. In Spain around 80% of houses still have an F or a G, mostly older properties with no insulation. And who can blame them, really. The doors are usually wide open. The climate is pleasant and plenty of houses are only used when the weather is good.

It does feel rather odd, if you ask me, that the requirement is not set climate by climate. Although I can say with certainty that an insulated house is very pleasant indeed in winter

The measures that gain you the most

Experience shows that it is a handful of big interventions that push your energy label up significantly:

• Roof and wall insulation gains you the most on average: in many cases it lifts your label by one or two classes. The very best approach is to wrap the house from the outside. If that is not possible, you can insulate the inside with PIR boards, for example.
• HR++ or triple glazing gives a comparable boost. Replacing old single-glazed frames is certainly worth one step. And the extra bonus: double-glazed frames are dirt cheap here.
• Efficient heating and cooling – a heat pump for both heating and cooling, or a modern, energy-efficient air conditioning unit, can easily gain you a label step.
• Solar panels and solar water heating: although panels mainly bring your energy bill down, we see that they also help you reach a better label (because you draw less electricity from the grid overall). With so many hours of sunshine the yield is enormous, and you barely use any gas here.
• Ventilation system: a balanced mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery can (once you have insulated) gain you another step.

In short: invest in insulation, better glazing and efficient systems for the biggest jump in label. These works are often expensive, but they also increase the value of your house and save you a great deal on energy in the long run.

Do you need a building permit? Obra Mayor vs Obra Menor

You do not need any special permit to apply for the energy label itself (you arrange it through an accredited architect or engineer). You do need to take care when it comes to building work. Even for small internal alterations you need a permit here. In the Netherlands that is not the case. In Spain they work with the permiso de obras, the building permit. There are two main types:

• Obra Mayor – a permit for major works such as new build, adding an extra storey or a casita, extending, or demolishing or moving load-bearing walls. For this you need a full set of plans (from an architect) and it takes rather longer to get approved.
• Obra Menor – a permit for smaller alterations. Think painting, fitting new frames or windows, replacing bathroom fittings or small insulation jobs. The application is simpler and often goes through quickly. You usually do not need to bring in an architect, but you do have to submit a description or a simple drawing.

Some examples: fitting solar panels usually counts as obra menor (a small installation), but check with the ayuntamiento (town hall) because the rules can differ from region to region. If you are building a conservatory or putting up a substantial extension, that has to go through obra mayor. Without the right permit you risk fines and you may even have to take the finished work down again later. In short: always check with the town hall which permit you need!

How this differs from the Netherlands

The Netherlands has energy labels too, of course, along with stricter rules for the poor ones. Dutch owners whose rental home has label E, F or G must bring it up to at least label D before 1 January 2029. But there are differences:

• Climate and housebuilding: Spanish houses are built above all to keep the heat out, with thicker walls and often no central heating. In the Netherlands the emphasis is on insulating well against cold and draughts. There we mainly want to keep the cold outside. So the same measures can work out very differently.
• Legislation: in Spain the new EPBD rules apply to every home that is sold or let, whoever owns it. In the Netherlands policy tends to run through the rental market (like the 2029 requirement) or through the Bouwbesluit 2020 building decree for new build.
• How the labels are used: Spain is now setting strict deadlines fast (2030/2033) to catch up.
• Permits: the Netherlands has its all-in-one environmental permit system, while Spain uses obra mayor and obra menor.

Houses in Spain are built with the Mediterranean climate in mind, which leads to some striking differences:

1. Insulation: in the Netherlands insulation is essential for keeping heat in. In Spain insulation is often limited, which gives you cool houses in summer but cold, uncomfortable ones in winter. We are honestly a little disappointed by how cold everything is. In the Netherlands we had an insulated floor with a lovely solid wooden finish. That is so much nicer underfoot.
2. Heating: in the Netherlands almost every house has gas central heating, while in Spain people mostly use air conditioning units, wood burners or electric heating. This is another thing that is genuinely different. Air conditioning units that heat give off very dry warm air. The whole house never gets properly warm.
3. Building materials: Spanish houses often have thick stone walls to keep the heat out, while Dutch houses are generally built with brick and concrete walls to hold the heat in.
4. Roof structure: flat roofs are common in Spain because there is so little rain, while in the Netherlands pitched, tiled roofs are the norm.
5. Drainage and septic tanks: in Spain, especially in rural areas, septic tanks are common, whereas in the Netherlands virtually every home is connected to an extensive sewerage system.
6. Energy supply: solar panels have been heavily encouraged by subsidies in the Netherlands, while in Spain they have only recently begun to take off.

Many houses in Spain were built as holiday homes. That makes the way they are built very different. And so insulating works differently here than it does in the Netherlands. Most houses do not even have radiators and a central heating boiler, and no cavity walls either.

Both countries are working towards greener housing, but the approach differs because of building culture, climate and legislation. For you as a homeowner in Spain, the crucial thing is to follow the Spanish rules. But also to look carefully at what is actually sensible. How do I make the house as comfortable as possible and invest in a better label.

What an energy audit involves in practice

During the energy audit (the certification inspection) a registered assessor records all the key figures for the property: roof and wall construction, windows (U-value), any roof or wall insulation, and the technical installations for heating, cooling and hot water. The inspector takes photographs and uses an official software package (CE3X, for instance) to calculate energy use and the label. The result is set out in the EPC report, including recommendations for improvements. In homes without central heating the auditor will enter the existing air conditioning units or gas heaters as the only climate installation, with their nominal COP/EER. Key inputs to the calculation are the U-values of the walls, windows and roof (solid concrete or brick walls with no cavity get high U-values) and the efficiency of the heating and cooling units. The algorithms work out annual energy use, CO₂ emissions and the label. Alongside the current label, the report often shows the improvement you could expect from specific measures (for example, “with external wall insulation and new high-performance glazing it could go from E to C”). The audit process itself (inspection, data entry, calculation, registration with the regional authority) follows RD 390/2021.

Quick wins

Many houses on the Costa Blanca have no central heating. So you often see open fireplaces or standalone air conditioning units as the solution. But what does that actually do to your energy label?

An open fire looks cosy, but in efficiency terms it is next to nothing. Often 70–90% of the heat simply disappears up the chimney. In the official Spanish energy audit a fireplace like that usually does not even count as heating. A pellet stove, on the other hand? That one is recognised as an efficient system. Thanks to its high efficiency and its use of renewable fuel (biomass), it can improve your energy label considerably, sometimes by as much as two steps.

And then there are solar panels. You would think that with this much sun every roof would be covered in them. But because of the notorious “sun tax” that applied until 2018, Spain lagged badly behind for years. You had to pay for access to the grid, which made being self-sufficient very expensive. Fortunately that law has now gone and you can generate your own electricity without the extra tax. Better still: you now even get money back for what you do not use yourself. Even so, hurdles remain in 2025, especially in apartments (shared roofs, bureaucracy) and in villages where the town hall offers few subsidies.

In short: if you want to make your house more efficient and easier to sell, a pellet stove plus energy-efficient air conditioning is a smart move. Combine that with solar panels if you get the chance and your energy label (and your monthly bills) will improve by leaps and bounds.

Stressing about selling or letting?

No need. You cannot simply nip up and insulate the loft with glass wool here, or lay Tonzon under the floor. But there are measures that are relatively easy to carry out so that you can sell. Are you looking for a house on the northern Costa Blanca? We are glad to help, including if you are after a house that still needs some work and an energy label that needs a bit of a lift 😉