When must a Spanish seller give you the energy certificate?

Should you receive it before the deed or before the deposit?

The certificado de eficiencia energética is the building's energy performance certificate. Spain's Real Decreto 390/2021 covers existing buildings, including separately sold parts. The owner must commission certification and keep its documentation. A sale does not require a fresh certificate if a valid one already exists (article 6.1).

There are duties at different stages. The energy label belongs in the offer and advertising, and the person publishing the listing, including an estate agency, must include the required rating information. “En trámite”, meaning being processed, does not replace it (articles 15 and 17.3).

For the sale itself, article 17.2 requires a copy of the duly registered certificate and its label to be attached to the sale contract. Do not assume this means only the escritura pública, the public deed signed before the notary. A private agreement may already commit you to buy.

Ask your own lawyer to review the proposed arras agreement, the contract associated with the purchase deposit, before signing or transferring money. The decree does not create a separate deadline called “before arras”; requesting the documents then gives you time to assess the house and price any improvements before committing to buy. See the guide to arras and purchase deposits for the terms to agree.

Are you buying land, a house, or a building for demolition?

Start with what is physically on the property. The wording of an English-language listing may blur distinctions that matter under the Spanish rules.

An empty plot. Article 2.h defines a building as a roofed construction with walls in which energy is used to condition the indoor environment. Bare land is outside existing-building certification. This says nothing about permission to build a future home; check that separately using the guide to what you can build.

Land with a home. The document concerns the building or certified part, rather than the whole area of the land. “Rustic property” is not a general exclusion. If the purchase includes several structures, identify their uses and establish which one the certificate covers.

Remains of a building. A roofless structure needs a technical assessment against the legal definition. There is no blanket exclusion in article 3.2 for every ruin, house needing renovation or property without utilities. Get a written explanation of the actual condition and the applicable route. Where the classification remains uncertain, ask the regional energy-certification authority for its position.

Does buying to renovate remove the certificate requirement?

Only particular works qualify. Article 3.2.e excludes buildings bought for demolition or for the renovations defined in article 3.1.d from obtaining an existing-building certificate. A plan to repaint, replace a kitchen or repair defects does not by itself establish that exclusion.

Since 23 July 2026, the owner must file a declaración responsable with the competent regional energy-certification authority to make this exclusion effective. This is a formal declaration of responsibility. The autonomous community may regulate a stricter procedure. A buyer's promise in the sale contract does not replace the owner's filing; nor should it be confused with a works notice submitted to the town hall.

Request the filed declaration and proof of submission, identifying this property and the proposed works. Have your technician confirm the relevant route under article 3.1.d:

• Replacement, installation or renewal of thermal systems requiring a thermal-installations project to be prepared or amended.
• Work affecting more than 25% of the building's final thermal envelope, the elements separating conditioned space from its surroundings.
• An extension increasing the built area or volume of the affected use units by more than 10%, where the useful floor area added exceeds 50 m².

The extension route has both conditions. MITECO clarifies that the 50 m² threshold concerns the added part, rather than the final area of the whole house. Ask for the calculation, distinguishing useful floor area from built area. An extension over 50 m² alone does not satisfy both conditions.

The exclusion concerns certification of the existing building. It does not remove the project and completed-works certification required under article 9 when applicable to the works being undertaken. Price those later tasks separately if you will become the owner commissioning the project.

Can a small, agricultural or holiday home be excluded?

The size exclusion in article 3.2.d requires a detached building, with no contact with other buildings, and total useful floor area below 50 m². A building measuring exactly 50 m² fails that area test. A small flat or terraced home does not qualify merely because of its size. The area of the surrounding plot is irrelevant to this test.

Ask the technician to calculate superficie útil under article 2.t, rather than relying on the floor area in the listing. This legal definition includes half the area of covered private outdoor spaces and excludes uncovered ones, among other rules. A covered terrace can therefore affect whether the building qualifies.

Low-energy-demand, non-residential agricultural buildings may be excluded under article 3.2.c. That is not an exemption for a home because it stands on a farm. If you are buying a storage building and a residence together, ask the technician to identify their separate uses and treatment.

Official protection is also conditional. Article 3.2.a requires that any energy improvement would unacceptably alter the building's character or appearance; the authority imposing the protection determines which elements cannot be changed. Age, stone walls or a protected description alone do not establish this exclusion.

Using a home for fewer than four months a year is no longer an exclusion. There is also no general dispensation simply because the house is empty, off-grid or has no boiler. When an agent offers one of these explanations, ask for the legal basis and evidence applying to the actual house.

What should you read beyond the letter on the label?

The etiqueta energética is the energy label, a summary of the assessment. Request the full certificate as well. Article 8 requires identification of the property, its energy characteristics and improvement recommendations, together with details of the visit and checks.

Match the address, referencia catastral, meaning cadastral property reference, and the part certified to the home you viewed. A certificate for a similar address is not enough. On a property containing several buildings, establish which structures have been assessed. Ask the certifier to explain differences in floor area or equipment before accepting the document.

The assessment may use certification of the whole building or representative homes with the same energy characteristics (article 6.2). For a single-family home, article 6.3 permits assessment of another representative building if the certifier guarantees the match in design, size and actual energy efficiency. Ask the certifier to explain that basis and how the home you are buying is identified and covered. This does not mean accepting another house's label without explanation.

The scale runs from A, more efficient, to G, less efficient. Read the separate ratings for non-renewable primary-energy consumption, in kWh/m² per year, and emissions, in kg CO2/m² per year. The consumption and emissions letters may differ.

These figures are not a guaranteed household bill. The assessment uses standard operating and occupancy conditions, and primary energy cannot simply be priced as metered electricity. Ask the technician how the actual installations and your intended use affect the practical picture. Review the proposed improvements before agreeing the purchase price, and obtain quotations for work you would need.

Under this decree, a poor rating does not itself require the seller to carry out every recommended improvement before selling. The certificate also does not replace an independent inspection of the structure, damp or habitability.

New recognised documents and label models have applied since 30 September 2026, with separate versions for projects, completed works and existing buildings. For a newly issued certificate, ask the technician to confirm the current procedure is being used. An older layout alone does not mean an earlier certificate has expired: check its registration and validity.

An exception matters if you are buying a house while it is being built or renovated. Where the recognised document setting technical assessment conditions changes between the project certificate and the completed-works certificate, article 9.4 allows the latter to use the same version as the project. Ask the certifier to explain whether this applies before requesting a new calculation. It is not general permission to use an obsolete procedure for a fresh existing-home certificate.

How can you establish registration and remaining validity?

Legal validity requires proper registration in the autonomous community's energy register (article 6.6). This is separate from the Registro de la Propiedad, the register of property titles. A technician's signature or paid invoice does not establish energy registration.

Ask for the registration number or document, then check it through the regional service available or with the competent authority. If the seller produces only a filing receipt, establish what it proves and whether corrections remain outstanding. The owner, developer or authorised representative submits the certificate and its electronic XML energy-evaluation report.

The MITECO directory of regional contact bodies is a starting point for finding the authority; confirm its current official online office, or sede electrónica. Send the registration number, cadastral reference and the seller's document. Ask the authority to confirm whether the certificate is registered, when it expires and whether any correction is outstanding.

The filing deadline is the period set by the relevant autonomous community; if none is set, the national default is one month from issue. That is a submission deadline, not a promise that the authority will finish processing within a month. This guide covers national rules only. Confirm the local procedure and any regional fee for the place where the building stands.

Article 13 sets a general maximum validity of ten years, reduced to five for G. MITECO explains that the shorter period applies to certificates registered from 3 June 2021 where either the consumption or emissions indicator is G. Earlier registrations retain the previous ten-year validity. Check the actual expiry rather than assuming every older G certificate became invalid after five years.

Also ask whether installations or relevant building characteristics have changed since assessment. The owner is responsible for renewal or updating under the regional conditions; an unexpired printed date is not a reason to ignore a mismatch with the house now being sold.

Who commissions the work, and what should a quote cover?

For a resale requiring certification, responsibility rests with the seller as owner. Ask for a written quotation covering the visit, issue and registration work, and clarify whether tax, travel, any regional fee and corrections are included. RD 390/2021 sets neither a national service price nor a single guaranteed turnaround time.

A competent technician must make at least one visit, no more than three months before issuing the certificate (article 6.5). A proposal to issue it solely from photographs supplied by the owner should be challenged. The three months concern the interval between visit and issue, not the certificate's validity.

Articles 4 bis, 4 ter and 4 quáter govern professional requirements and accreditation. For a new certificate, ask the signatory for evidence of their professional declaration to the energy authority where they have their tax domicile, or accreditation recognised through earlier registration under the first additional provision of RD 659/2025. This is separate from the owner's declaration for a building exclusion. If uncertain, check with the authority handling the technician's accreditation. It permits practice throughout Spain, without a new declaration for each property or region.

If you buy a new building or qualifying renovation before completion, the seller supplies the project energy label, followed by the completed-works certificate when the works finish and that certificate is issued (article 17.1). A predicted project rating does not establish finished performance. Make sure your document request fits the stage of the purchase.

What needs resolving before you pay arras?

Ask for the full certificate, label and regional registration details together. If the seller claims an exclusion, request its legal basis and the evidence for this building. Keep the response with a copy of the advert so your adviser can compare the claim with the documents.

If documents are missing, your lawyer can draft an agreed condition identifying what must be delivered, by when and what happens if delivery fails or the claimed exclusion cannot be supported. Expressly agree repayment of the money in that event. This is a protection to negotiate, rather than an automatic refund for every certificate defect.

Do not pay the deposit yet if…

• You receive only a label and nobody supplies the registered certificate.
• The certified building or reference differs and the certifier has not explained why.
• The exclusion rests solely on “rural”, “holiday home” or “needs renovation”.
• Demolition or qualifying renovation is claimed without evidence of the owner's energy-authority filing.
• Rebuilding is essential to your purchase and nobody has checked whether those works are possible.