2.III.iv. Implementation of mandatory advertising requirement – status – OVERVIEW

Since 2012, if a building or building unit is advertised (either in print or online) for sale or rent, the space heating demand and the total energy efficiency factor (fGEE) must be included in the advertisement.

The information required in advertisements is the energy consumption in kWh/(m².year) and the energy class.

From the beginning, the mean compliance rate of advertisements with the required information increased from year to year. However, by the end of 2016, it was limited to about 60%. By the end of 2016, a large control campaign with zero tolerance began in order to quickly reach a better rate of compliance. After sending fines to recidivist non-compliant real estate agencies in 2017-2018, the compliance rate reached 84% (92% for real estate agencies and 64% for private sellers/owners) and has remained steady since then.

Therefore, some restricted checks are still carried out to ensure that this higher rate of compliance is maintained.

Since January 2012, it is mandatory to publish the energy score and the address or the unique certificate reference number in all commercial advertisements. In 2019, 2,040 controls were executed regarding the advertising requirements. Ninety percent (90%) of the controlled advertisements complied with requirements.

Since December 2015, the minimum fine for not publishing the required data was reduced to 250 €. Both private individuals and broker agencies can be fined between 250 € and 5,000 € for not publishing the required EPC data.

In the period from January 2012 to December 2019, 768 fines were imposed.

The display modes of indicators are:

• the energy label
• E_spec expressed in kWh/m².year
• E_total expressed in kWh/year
• the EPC ID number

The need to display indicators and ID numbers varies depending on advertising supports (Table 10).

	Mention to be integrated in GRAPHIC form	Mentions to integrate in TEXT format (or orally)
	Energy Label	Energy Label "PEB: C" "PEB: from G to A++"	EPC ID "PEB No. ..."	Specific Primary Energy Consumption (kWh/m² per year) "Espec: 123 kWh/m².year"	Primary Energy Consumption (kWh per year) "Etotal: 12345 kWh/year"
Ads (newspapers, magazines, etc.)
in text format only	Not required	Mandatory	Mandatory	Recommended	Recommended
with pictures	Mandatory	Not required	Mandatory	Recommended	Recommended
Posters
in text format only	Not required	Mandatory	Mandatory	Not required	Not required
with pictures	Mandatory	Not required	Mandatory	Recommended	Recommended
Real Estate Listings
in text format only	Not required	Mandatory	Recommended	Not required	Not required
with pictures	Mandatory	Not required	Mandatory	Not required	Not required
Brochures and leaflets
relating to a building, unit lot or apartment building	Mandatory	Recommended	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
Internet & mobile apps
index pages	Mandatory	Not required	Not required	Not required	Not required
detailed pages	Mandatory	Not required	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
Direct Marketing
emailings, newsletters	Mandatory	Recommended	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
Broadcast chanel
	Mandatory	Not required	Mandatory	Not required	Not required
Radio
	Not applicable	Mandatory	Not required	Not required	Not required

Table 10. Mandatory advertising requirements.

The display of indicators is primarily the responsibility of the owners (seller or lessor) as well as professional representatives (lawyers or real estate agents). Publishers and third parties involved in the sales process do not have any responsibility.

Failure to display energy performance indicators in advertising is a punishable offence. This provision should be interpreted broadly so that poor communication in achieving the regulation objectives is also punishable (e.g., having a display too small to be readable).

The decree foresees a fixed administrative fine of 500 € if the energy performance indicator(s) of the EPCs are absent from the advertisement. The fine is doubled in case of recidivism within three (3) years. Controls are performed by the Regional Administration of Energy. From 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019, fines have been applied 133 times.

The owners of existing buildings with a total floor area of over 250 m² for which an EPC has been issued, are required to clearly display the certificate in the building. The cover page of the EPC reflects representative data, which shall be placed in a prominent location in the building, clearly visible to the public. In particular, the cover page of the EPC shall state the following results:

• the current energy performance of the building and the conformity thereof with the scale of energy efficiency class at the time of the energy audit;

• the estimated energy efficiency class, which is expected to be achieved after a package of energy efficiency measures in the building have been implemented.

Furthermore, where a building for which an EPC has been issued (or a building unit therein) is announced for sale or rental, the parameter "Specific annual expenditure of primary energy" in kWh/m², stated in the certificate, shall be noted in all advertisements. Before concluding a contract of sale or a rental agreement, the seller or landlord shall show the EPC to the prospective buyer or tenant.

As of January 2014, there is an obligation to indicate the energy class in the sales advertisements published in the media. Penalties are imposed by law both for owners and for authorised real estate brokers. Supervision is under the competence of the Ministry of Economy, Market Inspectorate. This obligation is commonly followed and no fines have been issued so far.

The MECI has launched sample checks on the implementation of this requirement in 2014. Checks have initially focused on building development companies and real estate agents. The result of these actions is that the energy class now appears in advertisement boards, newspaper advertisement and other commercials in media related to renting or selling buildings. The MECI plans to intensify these checks in 2020.

When a building or an apartment is offered for sale or rent in commercial media, the relevant advertisement should include the classification of the relevant energy performance indicators. The obligation to present the energy performance indicator classification in advertisements started on 1 January 2013. When the sale or rental is advertised by a third party (e.g., an estate agency), the owner must provide the visual part of the EPC (Figure 4) to that party, who then features the energy performance indicator classification in the advertisement. If the building owner does not provide the EPC, the third party displays class G to fulfil the obligation; the building owner can nevertheless be fined for not providing the graphical part of the EPC to the third party.

In July 2012, a new act implemented mandatory advertising requirements and provided sanctions in case of non-compliance.

When a building is being sold or rented out, the commercial media advertisement must display the EPC label. If the advertising requirement is not adhered to, the seller can be fined DKK 2,000 (268 €); the real estate agent can also be fined. Imposing fines in relation to missing energy labels has only seen limited use. Injunctions have instead been employed and complied with.

The Danish Energy Agency finds the level of statutory compliance high especially in relation to buildings advertised for sale. This may be explained by the fact that most real estate sales in Denmark are handled by professional agents.

In 2019, the Danish Energy Agency started to develop three-year strategic plans to ensure compliance of the mandatory advertising requirements. At the same time, reactive inquiries about advertisements lacking energy labels are being handled on an ongoing basis, with very few annual inquiries.

Current regulations require an EPC for renting and/or selling buildings since January 2013. The National Building Code also requires advertisements to include at least the building energy class and the primary energy consumption per heated area. The compliance rate for advertisements has risen from 3% in 2013 to 10% by the end of 2014.

In the 2015-2016 period, the CPTRA worked intensely to increase the information provided on EPCs in the real estate sector. With information provided directly to different stakeholders (real estate agents and companies, real estate sales portals) and seminars, the compliance rate for advertisements has risen from 3% in 2013 to 58% by end of 2016. After 2016, there was a slow but steady increase, reaching 65-70% by the end of 2020, aiming to achieve the next big additional step when the EPC data is made available in the form of a dynamic 3D-Twin platform.

Real estate agents are required to ensure that the energy class of a building that is being sold or rented is posted with advertisements and other marketing materials, and that the EPC can be viewed by potential buyers or tenants during the transaction process.

The mandatory requirement to display the energy class of the building in commercial advertisements is included in the new legislation on the energy performance of buildings that came into force on 1 June 2013 and applies to different building types in accordance with the schedule set by the legislation.

As the authority responsible for the control of the mandatory advertising requirement, the ARA makes information requests, after which the building owner can set things right (with the real estate agent). If the matter persists, the actions escalate from warnings, orders and conditional fines. The Ministry of the Environment, together with the ARA and the Regional State Administrative Agencies, who control the real estate agents, are in good cooperation with the real estate sector, represented by two major organisations – the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies (Kiinteistöalan Keskusliitto ry) and the Finnish Association of Real Estate Agents (Suomen Kiinteistönvälittäjäliitto ry) – to influence the real estate trading regulations and standards to ensure compliance with legislation. Regular meetings are arranged twice a year, Motiva also taking part in meetings.

Since 1 January 2011, it is mandatory for real estate agencies to include some information provided by the EPC in their advertising. Every type of advertising is affected, but not in the same way. Advertisements published in newspapers should display at least the energy class letter, while advertisements published on the internet or at the real estate office must display the full energy label. The picture of the label should be at least 180 X 180 pixels on the internet and should occupy at least 5% of the advertisement displayed at the real estate office.

In case of non-compliance, there are two types of sanctions: based on the civil law, the client can demand the cancellation of the sale; based on the criminal law, the sale can be considered as fraudulent and can lead to a prison term of two years without remission and a 37,500 € fine imposed by the ‘General Directorate of Competition, Consumption and Fraud Repression’ (DGCCRF). Such penalties have not been applied so far. A simple call to order has always been sufficient to bring non-compliant parties to compliance. Yet, the DGCCRF estimates that in 15% of the real estate dealings the EPC is not displayed.

Figure 3. Example of property advertising on the internet including information provided by the EPC.

The obligation to include an energy performance indicator in advertisements in commercial media was introduced in accordance with the current Energy Saving Ordinance. In order to provide comprehensive information, the advertisements have to state:

• the year of construction of the building;
• the value of consumption or demand of delivered energy;
• the main energy carrier used for heating and domestic hot water;
• the type of EPC (based on calculated or measured consumption) from which the information was taken;

and in addition:

• for residential buildings, if applicable, the efficiency class;
• for non-residential buildings, the delivered energy value for electricity.

Because of the extent of the required information, most major newspapers provide a standardised system of abbreviations for their advertising to customers.

The requirement applies to buildings that have an EPC. Since an EPC has to be presented at the time of viewing the building, the necessary information is normally included in most advertisements for existing buildings. Non-compliance can be fined with a penalty of up to 5,000 €. Professional estate agents are also aware that, in case of non-compliance, they might be sued by competitors or consumer organisations using a procedure which is common in German competition law.

Law 4122/2013 establishes the mandatory inclusion of EPC energy classes in advertisements for sales or rentals of buildings or building units that already have an EPC. However, since the EPC is only required at the moment of sale or rental and not before, in most cases for existing buildings there is still no EPC class reference when the building or flat is advertised. Therefore, many advertisements still do not include information on the energy rating. In the case of newly constructed buildings in which the issuing of the EPC has already been done, the advertisement includes the EPC energy class. To date, no fines have been issued for non‐compliance with this requirement.

According to the Governmental Decree 176/2008 (VI. 30.), as of 9 January 2013, the energy categories must be displayed in all commercial advertisements for all buildings or building units, (including individual apartments in blocks of flats, single-family houses, and non-residential buildings) when sold or rented, if the EPC is available. In most cases, the EPC is not available in the period of advertising, but only at the moment of sale or rental. As of January 2017, it is neither controlled nor sanctioned if the mandatory advertising requirement is obeyed or not.

SEAI published advertisement guidelines⁶ which can be summarised as follows:

• A person offering a property for sale or rent on or after 9^th January 2013, or their agent, shall ensure that the energy performance indicator of the current EPC for the building is stated in any advertisements, where such advertisements are taken relating to the sale or letting of that building.
• Prospective buyers and renters will be shown the EPC rating (Alphanumeric value) along with other prescribed content (dependent on the particular medium) in a prominent location in each specific advertisement.
• Where images of the property are used, then the presentation of the alphanumeric value will be by way of the prescribed EPC Alphanumeric Rating Motif for the particular property rating.
• The EPC Alphanumeric Rating Motif artwork files will be made available in electronic format from the SEAI website or on request to info@ber.seai.ie.

These requirements apply to advertisements, meaning a public announcement in newspaper, magazine, brochure, leaflet, advertising notice, vehicle, radio, television, internet (including apps and social media) and direct mail.

According to the LEPB, advertisements for the sale, rent or lease of any building or building unit should display the energy performance indicators of the building or building unit if an EPC has already been issued for that building in accordance with the procedures specified in this law. This requirement is not fully effective, as there is no penalty system. Latvia has been developing a more ambitious penalty system since 2017.

A modification of RGD 2007 and RGD 2010 has introduced the obligation to insert the overall energy performance class (primary energy) and the heating performance class in real estate advertisements in all commercial media (paper, internet, etc.).

This obligation came into force on 1 July 2012. A large number of real estate advertisements comply with this obligation and the ministry randomly checks compliance.

As of 2020, a new requirement for licensing estate agents has come into force. This has improved the quality of the services provided by estate agencies, making the requirement for the presentation of EPCs at the property advertising stage easier to enforce.

Provisions regulating the advertising of EPCs are contained within Legal Notice (47 of 2018), placing obligations on each and every party involved in the sale of property. Requirements are detailed and include advertisements on websites where users are able to create advertisements themselves. Following the resolution of anomalies previously present within the existing legal instruments, progress on this EPBD provision has continued.

A document titled ‘Advertisement requirement guidelines’ has been issued to serve both as a guide and as a ‘minimum requirement’ for the integration of EPCs within advertising media including, among others, publications, newspapers, magazines, internet media, brochures, billboards, radio, television, direct mail, apps and estate agent listings (Figure 9).

Advertising media and estate agents have been informed of legal provisions in place such that these can take the required action. Advertisement of EPCs within online and printed media has been initiated.

Figure 8. Extract from advertisement requirement guidelines issued for all advertising media (https://epc.gov.mt/legislation). 

The presence of the label in advertising is checked by the ILT.

Of all houses sold in the Netherlands, 80% are advertised on the website of the real estate chain, ‘Funda’. The remaining 20% are sold through other agencies or means, in most cases without an advertisement. On the ‘Funda’ website, the final EPC or otherwise the preliminary EPC is shown, along with the characteristics of the property. The obligation to publish the final label is only mandatory if an EPC already exists. In many cases, house owners have not registered their final EPC when the advertisement is published.

Since Norway has only implemented Directive 2002/91/EC and not Directive 2010/31/EU, building owners are not required to include energy labels in all advertisements, for instance, in newspapers.

The regulation does, however, require building owners to use the EPC or a summary of it when marketing a building for sale or rent. The label and certificate must thus be included in the total amount of documents being presented to the potential buyer or tenant.

The Act on the Energy Performance of Buildings transposed the mandatory advertising requirements derived from the EPBD into Polish law. According to these rules, the energy performance indicator from the EPC has to be included in both sale and rental advertisements (for every type of building).

The Polish legal framework requires the publication of selected EPC information (the value of final energy is obligatory); however, the advertisements sometimes provide additional information, e.g., about numerical values of CO₂ emissions, the share of RES, or the heat transfer coefficient. This is more common for the sale of new single‐family houses.

At the same time, there is still a relatively low level of interest from consumers and building owners in the EPC and energy data. The main criteria for choosing a house or apartment is not the level of energy performance of the building, but location and price.

Since December 2013, when Directive 2010/31/EU was transposed into national regulation, any building or apartment advertisement needs to present the energy label. ADENE (the EPC management entity) provides guidelines for advertisements that are followed by the vast majority of real estate agents. It also provides specific web services for real estate agents to collect specific data from the EPC database to use for their advertising. An example of models to be used in advertisements is shown in Figures 5 and 6.

Figure 5: Example of advertisement including the energy label.

Figure 6: Model to be used in advertisements for the energy efficiency label.

The real estate sector was informed of these two mechanisms back in 2013. After a slow start, a steady pace has been set, and it is almost impossible nowadays to see real estate advertisements without a clear reference to the energy performance of the building, in particular the energy label. It has become commonplace for real estate websites to have a specific filter for the energy label and it is often possible to sort the properties according to their energy performance.

Act 555/2005⁷ on the energy performance of buildings implements mandatory advertising requirements which have been in force since January 2013. In cases where the building or its part is sold or rented, the global indicator of the integrated energy performance from the EPC must be mentioned  as part of the offer. This obligation is also valid for real estate services. The Slovak Trade Inspection is in charge of control checks. Both the owner of the building or its part and the natural or legal person offering the real estate service may be fined in accordance with Act Nr. 555/2005 if they fail to comply with this obligation.

In Slovenia, advertising with the inclusion of the EPC energy performance indicator is obligatory when selling and/or renting the building or the building unit. Control is the responsibility of the market inspectorate. Various intensive additional activities are ongoing in this field.

The Ministry of Infrastructure has developed an electronic application for cross-linking a number of databases, i.e., the database on real estate transactions, the rental database, the EPC database and some others, that will be made publicly available, offering a handy insight into several building features in one single step.

The Act on Energy Efficiency defines several types of penalties, among which:

• A fine of 300 € shall be imposed to the owner of a building or an individual part of a building for a misdemeanour if:
       - when selling or leasing a building or an individual part of a building, the owner fails to submit to the buyer or tenant the original or a copy of a valid EPC of the building or its individual part at the latest before concluding the contract;
       - when selling or leasing a building or an individual part of a building, the owner fails to ensure that the energy performance indicators stated in the EPC of the building or an individual part of the building are included in the advertisement. For the same misdemeanour,
• A fine of 100 € shall be imposed to the person made responsible on behalf of a legal person, an individual sole proprietor, or an individual who independently performs an activity, or the person made responsible on behalf of a state body or self-governing local community.
• A fine of 1,000 € shall be imposed to the legal manager of a building or an individual part of a building for a misdemeanour if they fail to ensure the display of a valid EPC in a visible place.
  
  

Figure 7: Cross-linking of public databases (upgrade in progress). The map shows the EPCs issued per municipality and visualises the EPC e-register on a GIS map.

The obligation to show the energy performance label follows the same calendar and the same pattern as that for obtaining it, according to article 13 of RD 2015/2013.

In Spain, it is mandatory that sale or rent advertisements of buildings include the energy performance label. This requirement is contained in Law 8/2013 on sanctions in the field of energy performance, as one of the cases that may imply economic sanctions. No additional actions have been undertaken in order to explicitly assess compliance with this requirement.

Requirements for advertising have been implemented since 2012 and Boverket regularly carries out advertisement controls. The most recent control is mainly focusing on the information given by real estate agents during sales. If the requirements are not met, the supervisory authority can order a correction, which can be combined with a conditional fine.

Boverket has produced a manual with information about graphic elements and colour codes especially aimed at brokers and actors involved in advertising building sales¹². 

Sellers and landlords are responsible for commissioning an EPC before the property is marketed. Before marketing the property, an estate or letting agent (acting on behalf of sellers or landlords) must be satisfied that an EPC has been commissioned for the property.

Since 2013, when a building is offered for sale or rent, the seller, landlord, or where applicable, a person acting on their behalf (e.g. an estate or letting agent), must ensure that the energy performance rating of the building expressed in the EPC is stated in any advertisement of the sale or rental in commercial media⁴⁹.

The enforcement and penalty regimes are as described for EPCs above.

Wales adopted the same approach as England. See England report for details.

Since 2013, a property cannot be advertised for sale or rent without an EPC. Estate or Letting Agents must ensure that an EPC is available, or has been commissioned, before the property is marketed.

Any commercial media used to advertise a property (e.g. websites, classified ads) must contain the coloured bar chart energy indicator from the EPC or the EPC energy rating e.g. “EPC F36”.

The landlord or seller must ensure a copy of the EPC is shown, free of charge, to interested parties when they first enquire about the property.

An EPC must be provided when the building owner intends to sell or rent a building. Valid existing EPCs can be used for sale or rent, otherwise a new EPC must be obtained. The EPC and Recommendations Report must be provided to prospective buyers or tenants. Since 2013, building owners must ensure that commercial advertising of a property for sale or rent includes the “energy performance indicator”, e.g. EPC = C.