Energy performance certificate (EPC) for sale or rent of a dwelling

The EPC informs prospective buyers or tenants in advance about the energy efficiency of the dwelling.

The seller/landlord is obliged to state the energy performance of the housing unit with the energy score or the EPC label (from A+ to F) in advertisements (online, on posters, in newspapers or classified ads, through an estate agent, etc.).

• On energiesparen.be you can find an overview of all housing units for which an EPC is mandatory.

You already have an EPC

• Check if the validity date on your ‘EPC for an existing dwelling’ or ‘EPC Construction’ has not yet expired. The EPC must be valid from the time of the sale or rent until the date of execution of the notarial deed or the signing of the rental agreement.
  • Indicate the mandatory EPC information in the advertisements (in Dutch).
  • Show the EPC or the EPC Construction to interested buyers or tenants.
  • If your dwelling is sold, provide the original EPC or EPC Construction to the buyer. From 2022 onwards, the EPC for an existing dwelling must have been drawn up in 2019 or later.
  • If your dwelling is rented out, you should append a copy of the EPC or EPC Construction to the rental agreement. This way the tenant will receive a copy. The landlord should keep the original EPC.
• If you have made your dwelling more energy efficient since your EPC was drawn up, you can have a new EPC for an existing dwelling drawn up, even if the previous EPC is still valid.
• If you have expanded your dwelling since your EPC was drawn up, your EPC or EPC Construction may no longer be valid. Contact your energy expert or Energy and Climate Agency of Flanders (Vlaams Energie- en Klimaatagentschap) via the contact form(opens in new window).

You do not have a (valid) EPC

• If the validity date of your EPC or EPC Construction has expired, you need to have a new EPC for an existing dwelling drawn up.

• If you have you lost your EPC, you should ask the energy expert who drew it up for a duplicate.
• If you do not know whether an EPC was drawn up for your dwelling or which energy expert drew it up:
  • you should contact the Energy and Climate Agency of Flanders via the contact form(opens in new window)
  • you should attach written proof that you are the owner of the dwelling, e.g. by means of a copy of the deed or the property tax statement
  • the Energy and Climate Agency of Flanders will provide you with a copy of the EPC (without the signature of the energy expert)
  • you should request a signed duplicate from the energy expert who drew up the EPC.

The Energy and Climate Agency of Flanders (Vlaams Energie- en Klimaatagentschap/VEKA) checks via random inspections

• whether a valid energy performance certificate (EPC) is available
• and whether the EPC was duly drawn up.

If no EPC is available, the owner will receive a letter. The owner may then submit written arguments. After evaluating the arguments, a fine of between EUR 500 and EUR 5,000 may be imposed.

The payment of the fine is not a remission and does not have a suspensory effect with regard to the drafting of the EPC. Even if you are fined, you still need to have an EPC drawn up. If the dwelling is still put up for sale or rent, the owner may even be fined a second time during a subsequent inspection.

An EPC is not required in the following cases:

• when the sale or rent is arranged mutually without written publicity (advertisements or notices on paper or online, posters, etc.), e.g. a rent or sale that is arranged mutually between family members when a seller and a buyer (or an owner and a tenant) find each other without any written publicity having been made about the sale or rent, it can be assumed that the buyer or tenant is sufficiently informed about the status of the dwelling
• when renting out a service flat at a per diem rate and without a rental agreement or when renting out an emergency dwelling at a per diem rate and without a rental agreement
• when selling a housing unit that has been declared unfit for human habitation
• when selling or renting out house boats
• when selling part of the property (e.g. by one of the partners in case of divorce)
• when renting out a holiday home with a rental agreement of less than 2 months.
  An EPC is required, however, for a rental agreement of 2 months or more or if the holiday home is the tenant’s main residence
• On energiesparen.be you can find all exceptions.