The EPBD directive and rental flats: what the EP vote means
The EPBD directive and rental flats - after 12 March 2024 the topic got people nervous. There is no need, because the vote itself changes nothing in a landlord’s situation. The European Parliament adopted the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, but it does not place obligations directly on the owner of a flat. Only national law will do that. Headlines about “EU-forced renovations” are therefore ahead of the facts, and ongoing leases continue on their existing terms. Below: what is in the adopted text, what is still unknown and which matters you can put in order right now.
What exactly did the European Parliament adopt on 12 March 2024?
MEPs adopted the revised buildings directive. The aim: lower energy use and lower greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. The main points are described in the European Parliament’s press release after the vote, and in my view it is the most reliable source on the content of the document today. But the procedure is not over yet. The text was waiting for approval by the Council and for publication (8 May 2024), and then Poland was given time to implement it by 29 May 2026.
How does a directive differ from a regulation? It sets goals for member states, and they choose the means of reaching them on their own. It orders nothing from individual owners until the national legislator turns those goals into its own law. Without this distinction it is easy to fall for scare stories.
The EPBD directive and rental flats: does the owner already have new obligations?
No. In March 2024 a landlord has no new obligation under the directive. And does the EPBD directive ban renting? No again: the Parliament’s press release contains no ban on renting out flats with a low energy class. Reports of forced renovations are based on guesswork, not on the adopted text.
The targets for residential buildings refer to the national average. Not to a single flat in an old block. Besides, in a multi-family building, works on the common parts (wall insulation, replacing the heat source) are decided by the owners’ association or the housing cooperative, not by the owner of one flat. The energy performance certificate is a separate matter. It follows from national rules already in force and is one of the topics covered by preparing a flat for rent.
What the new 2024 buildings directive says about residential buildings
The text provides for national trajectories for reducing the average primary energy use of residential buildings. The Parliament’s information on the adopted rules also shows that new buildings are to be zero-emission from 2030, and those occupied or owned by public authorities - from 2028. The main elements of the document:
- a zero-emission standard for newly constructed buildings, introduced earlier in the public sector,
- national trajectories for lowering average primary energy use in the housing stock,
- a gradual phase-out of fossil fuel boilers,
- the option to exempt agricultural and heritage buildings.
Each member state chooses its own way of reaching the goal. And that is exactly why the practical effects for landlords will only be settled by the solutions adopted in Poland.
What is still unknown after the vote
It is not known how Poland will turn the EU goals into specific requirements for buildings and their owners. At least three questions remain open: which buildings will be covered first, what requirements will appear for flats in multi-family housing and how the legislator will treat rentals. The adopted document answers none of these questions. None.
The practical conclusion is simple: do not base a decision on a major renovation on press headlines. And what if a tenant or a business partner proposes contract clauses about future modernisation and their effects are hard to assess? Then it is better to consult a lawyer. A flat owner’s obligations under EU rules are an issue that will only become concrete once there is a national draft.
What an owner can do right now, before national rules appear
What pays off most today is putting the technical documentation in order and honestly assessing the condition of the installations. Boring? A little. But this knowledge will be useful whatever shape future regulations take, for example when talking to the building manager or the next tenant. Four steps are enough:
- Gather the documentation for the building and the flat, including the energy certificate if you have one.
- Check how the flat is heated and what condition the installations are in - regular inspections in a rental flat will help with this.
- Write down the renovations already done: window replacement, insulation, new radiators.
- Ask the building manager, the owners’ association or the housing cooperative about plans for the whole building.
Thermal modernisation of a rental flat in a block has a limited scope, because inside the flat itself you can mainly replace windows, doors and radiators. The rest depends on resolutions of the owners’ association. That is why it pays to go to the meetings (yes, I know, hardly anyone enjoys them) and to know the schedule of planned works. Paperwork and the history of works are easier to keep in one place: it is worth organising it in the building file with repair history, where you store technical documentation and inspection entries.
How to read further news about the directive
Only national rules will be binding on a landlord, so it is their drafts you need to watch for. Three signals will appear along the way: approval of the text by the Council, publication of the directive and the Polish implementation draft. And only the last one will show who the new requirements will cover and to what extent.
It is worth checking every piece of news about “new obligations” against the stage the procedure has reached. For now, the EPBD directive and rental flats is a topic to watch and to prepare documents for. Not a reason to stop renting.
Frequently asked questions
No. The directive does not place obligations directly on the owner of a flat, and the Parliament’s press release does not mention a ban on renting. Existing leases remain in force on their current terms.
Only after the text is approved by the Council, published and implemented into national law. At this stage it is not possible to give dates from which anything will change for landlords. The specific requirements will be set by the Polish legislator.
No. The certificate handed over when renting follows from national rules already in force. The directive adopted in March, on the other hand, concerns targets for the entire building stock and does not by itself change the rules for drawing up this document.
