It is still not uncommon to find offers of energy certificates At demolition prices, they usually indicate that they do not visit the house and that a few photographs is enough. The question that arises about these offers is whether they are legal, that is, whether an energy certificate can be made without visiting the property in question.

The origin of the problem, the drafting of the law

As he Royal Decree 47/2007, of January 19, which approves the basic procedure for the certification of energy efficiency of newly built buildings. As the Royal Decree 235/2013, of April 5, which approves the basic procedure for the certification of the energy efficiency of buildings, which repeals the previous one, did not specify the obligation to visit the properties to certify them.

In the case of RD 235/2013, it can be seen in article 5.5

During the certification process, the competent technician will carry out the necessary tests and verifications, in order to establish the conformity of the information contained in the energy efficiency certificate with the building or with the part thereof.

This generated many abuses, given that by not specifying how the verifications should be obtained, there were technicians who, with some photos of the client, already made the certificate and presented it. Although this was unethical, it could not be considered illegal either, since the law was too diffuse in this regard. The situation got to the point that there were technicians certifying houses hundreds of kilometers away for ridiculous amounts.

Royal Decree 390/2021 made the visit mandatory to carry out an energy certificate

But this situation could not be maintained over time, so after the publication of the Royal Decree 390/2021, of June 1, which approves the basic procedure for the certification of the energy efficiency of buildings, the visit to the real estate became mandatory, things changed.

The change took more than 10 years after the obligation to carry out energy certificates in existing homes. Therefore, many technicians still maintain the bad practices inherited for this reason, there is frequent doubt about whether it is necessary to visit the homes to certify them.

The new Royal Decree 390/2021 is now totally clear about it in its article 6:

During the certification process, the competent technician will perform at least one visit to the property, with a maximum notice of three months before the issuance of the certificate, to carry out the data collection, tests and verifications necessary for the correct execution of the energy efficiency certificate of the building or part thereof.

Article 6.5

With this we can conclude that Yes, the visit is mandatory to carry out a energy certificate.