Property ad law comes into effect

ALL property adverts will have to show the energy efficiency rating of the building from January 1. It is thought this will have an effect on prices and attractiveness of properties to buyers, depending on how well they rate.

Since September 2006, a check of a property’s efficiency is one of the diagnostics that owners must have done when selling, whether it is a home or an office or shop. A certificate must be attached to the sale contract.

These studies, done by a professional diagnostiqueur, estimate the energy consumption of the property in kWh/m2, average costs and information on CO2 emissions.

The scheme was brought in because buildings consume 46 per cent of the energy produced in France and emit a quarter of greenhouse gas.

To make the documents simpler, buildings are also attributed letter ratings for both energy consumption and gas emissions, both from A to G.

The checks have to be done by a building industry professional certified by the Comité Français d’Accréditation. Your local ADIL (accommodation advice centre) can help you find one (see www.anil.org).

Buildings with the top “A” efficiency rate are likely to be new, built to the latest exacting BBC standards.

At present, estate agents do not usually stress the rating. Now it will have to be mentioned, in adverts, on internet sites and in agency windows.

The government wants to persuade owners to get insulation work done. Heating is where 70 per cent of most families energy costs go, with the average annual bill about €900.

However, the president of estate agency organisation Fnaim, an attractive home will sell even if its rating is mediocre, while the head of the Notaires’ property institute said that inefficiency was already taken into consideration.