Exemptions and reliefs

According to professional sources five building types are not required to meet the energy performance requirements, and each exemption answers a specific reason. The list in the regulation is exhaustive.

Building	Basis of the exemption
Heritage-protected buildings	conflict of values: insulation would damage what is protected
Buildings used for religious activities	the pattern of use differs from the ordinary
Temporary buildings	the service life does not justify the investment
Dwellings used less than 4 months a year	seasonality invalidates the calculation's assumptions
Buildings with a heated area under 50 m²	proportionality: the cost of the procedure would exceed the benefit

The last two rows are the most frequently relevant for houses and ancillary buildings. The list and its precise wording must be checked against the regulation in force, and in a borderline case it is worth asking whether the reason for the exemption holds.

Here is a distinction often left unmade, and conflating the two leads to the wrong conclusion. An exemption from the requirement is not an exemption from the certificate.

An exemption means the requirements do not apply. A relief means a lower level applies.

Where sun-facing roof area is insufficient, for instance, the requirement does not disappear: the low-energy building level applies, as covered by the article on the nearly zero-energy requirement. Likewise the lower requirement for a substantially reconstructed building is not an exemption but a separate level. Conflating them leads to the conclusion that no certificate is needed, which is not true.

Three observations hold even where an exemption applies. They concern the documents and the procedure.

An exemption does not mean the building needs no energy certificate in any situation: the need may also arise from a sale or a letting, whose conditions must be checked separately. Nor does it mean energy performance is not worth considering, since the running costs are the same whether or not the requirement applies.

The third is the most important procedurally: an exemption does not apply automatically, it has to be established and, where necessary, evidenced. Relying on an exemption without checking it is a risk that surfaces during the procedure, where correcting it is most expensive.

Situations in which the exemption is not obvious and asking costs less than assuming. The question should be put in writing.

Borderline case	What is decisive
Heated area near 50 m²	the definition of area, not the everyday sense
Use is seasonal but not clearly under 4 months	the actual pattern of use
Heritage protection is partial, for example the façade only	the extent of protection

The third is the hardest, because the extent of protection determines what can be done, and it must be asked of the competent heritage authority before the solution is chosen. It concerns heritage protection.

Heritage-protected buildings, buildings used for religious activities, temporary buildings, dwellings used less than four months a year and buildings with a heated area under 50 square metres are exempt from the energy performance requirements, and each exemption rests on a specific reason. An exemption is not the same as a relief: the first removes the requirement, the second lowers the level, and conflating them leads to the conclusion that no certificate is needed. An exemption does not apply automatically but must be established and, where necessary, evidenced.

Four rules: check whether an exemption applies against the regulation in force, not from general knowledge. Distinguish an exemption from a relief, since the latter does not remove the requirement. Evidence the exemption rather than assuming it. Ask about the extent of protection in heritage cases, since the whole solution depends on it.