The EU Commission has informally informed the Building Regulation Office (BRO) that its proposed building energy legislation is in line with EU directives – allowing it to breath a sigh of relief as Malta had at one point been facing a minimum €33 million fine.
The government had issued a legal notice in 2012 meant to bring Malta in line with the 2010 EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings –but the European Commission disagreed with several points in the technical document. The issue escalated to the point where the European Commission issued a “reasoned opinion” but in July 2014, it gave Malta some breathing space after it was convinced by the BRO of its intentions to rectify the situation, sparing the island the possibility of being taken to the European Court of Justice.
The BRO has since drafted a replacement encompassing the European Commission’s feedback, which was first issued for public consultation and is now being subjected to interministerial scrutiny. It is expected to be in place around the first week of July 2016.
In the meantime, the BRO has issued legal notice 434/2016, which came into force on January 1, 2016, applicable for buildings which are being designed under the ‘new regime’, based on “Technical Document F Part 1: Minimum Energy Performance Requirements for Buildings in Malta”.
The BRO has been working to bring around 85,000 existing buildings sold between 2009 and 2015 in line with the Directive
The BRO has also been working to bring around 85,000 existing buildings sold between 2009 and 2015 in line with the Directive. The number of EPCs issued by the BRO rose from 139 certificates in 2013 to just under 1,500 certificates in 2014 to 8,482 certificates in 2015, as the backlog is slowly tackled.
BRO head, Michael Ferry, told The Business Observer that the office is committed to ensuring that by end 2016 all successful applications for a development permit submitted by 2010 will have a registered EPC.
By law, anyone selling, constructing or renting a building is obliged to present an energy performance certificate (EPC) during the period of promise of sale or rental agreement or on the contract date.
The owner of the building may be fined between €500 and €5,000 if an EPC is not presented within 60 days.
Moreover, Mepa will not issue a building permit unless it is accompanied by a design rating application and the Inland Revenue Department actively reminds buyers about the need for such certification with every promise of sale.
As part of the Directive requirements, guidelines were also developed to instruct real estate agents, other stakeholders in the building industry and the public regarding the requirement for advertisements for property to include energy performance indicators.
These became binding regulations in 2016 and have now been uploaded on to the BRO’s website.
The BRO has also been working to solve another bottleneck: the number of approved assessors. Eight courses for non-dwelling assessors were held in 2015, resulting in 139 new ones registered with the BRO.
“The future months and years at last look much less bumpy and, in this regard, one would be in a better position to pave the way for new initiatives within the ambit of the energy performance of buildings,” Mr Ferry said.