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ENERGY

Shared central heating in Spain’s buildings to end soon: what you need to know

If you have district heating in your building in Spain, you may soon have to install an individual meter in your flat or apartment, the Spanish government has announced.

Published: 5 November 2021 13:30 CET
radiator, central heating
A radiator seen up close. Photo: ri / Pixabay

In some parts of Spain it’s still common to find communal central heating systems for the whole building, known also as district heating systems, but the Spanish government has set out rules for these to be replaced by individual meters.

The plan is to make people more aware of the energy consumption they are using and to make sure that everyone is paying for their own heating usage. Currently, heating bills in these buildings are just split equally between the number of apartments, taking into account the number of people who live in each. 

Building managers and community of neighbours will have until mid-2022 or early 2023 to install the systems necessary for individualised meters, depending on the climatic zone the buildings are located in and the number of homes they contain. 

As of May 2023, each neighbour in buildings with district heating in Spain must pay exclusively for their own heating consumption.

District heating systems usually run on natural gas energy, heating the entire building via the same network.

The new measure will affect at least 1.7 million homes in Spain and will mainly affect those buildings built before 1998.

It will also avoid energy waste of two million tons of CO2 per year. The majority of district buildings in Spain are in Madrid: 700,000, but they’re also common in Cantabria and Navarre.

Why has Spain chosen to scrap district heating?

A study carried out between 2015 and 2018 revealed that the installation of meters that control individual heating usage in homes with district central heating generates an average saving on your heating bill of 29.60 percent two years after its installation.

This research was carried out in 396 homes with central heating in the Community of Madrid and was supervised and certified by the property managers of said communities of owners.

Installing individual central heating has the potential to save €230 in heating costs a year per housing unit, according to the Spanish Association of Heat Cost Distributors.

How much do the meters cost?
 
Individual meters can cost around €250, plus the cost of installing them, but prices can vary a lot depending on the building you live in. 
 
If it’s not possible to install a meter for the entire apartment however, you will have to install individual meters on each radiator at a cost of around €30 per unit. 
 
It is also possible to rent meters and a monthly cost of around €7 – €10, including maintenance. 

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The dates you need to know

The decree published by the Spanish government on August 6th 2020, set out the deadlines by which a quote must have been obtained. You can find out what climate zone you’re located in by looking at the government’s Basic Document on Energy Saving. 

  • February 1st, 2021 for buildings of non-residential use and those in climate zone E with 20 or more dwellings.
  • July 1st, 2021 for those in climate zone E with fewer than 20 homes and in climate zone D for buildings with 20 or more homes.
  • December 1st, 2021 for those in climate zone D with less than 20 homes and in climate zone C for buildings with 20 or more homes.
  • February 1st, 2022 for those in climate zone C with fewer than 20 homes.
Spain's climate zones according to the Technical Building Code. Source: CTE
Spain’s provinces categorised into climate zones according to the Technical Building Code. Source: CTE

If the quote you receive proves to be technically viable and makes economic sense, the Spanish government states that “the holder must proceed with the installation of individualised accounting systems within a maximum period of fifteen months from these dates”.  

Each community of neighbours will be responsible for the installation and payment of the meters, in other words property owners will have to share the costs. If they fail by a certain date there will be sanctions of between €300 and 60,000.

This means that the individual meters themselves will have to be installed by the following dates:

  • May 1st, 2022 for buildings of non-residential use and in climate zone E for buildings with 20 or more homes.
  • October 1st, 2022 for those in climate zone E with less than 20 homes, and in climate zone D for buildings with 20 or more homes.
  • March 1st, 2023 for those in climate zone D with less than 20 homes and in climate zone C for buildings with 20 or more homes.
  • May 1st, 2023 for those in climate zone C with less than 20 homes.

Exceptions to the new measures

There are however some exceptions; not all buildings or homes will have to comply with this regulation if they’re not able to.  

“The simplest way to comply with the regulations is to put a meter on each apartment, but this is only technically possible in heating systems arranged in a ring”, said Enrique García, spokesman for the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU).

Those for example which cannot install individual meters due to technical reasons or those which have heating systems equipped with heat emitters connected in series (provided that they serve more than one user in the same ring) will be exempt. 

Any system that does not allow for individualising consumption, such as user-to-user system management, is also exempt.

Those buildings which would lack of economic profitability because they’re located in climatic zones A and B will also be exempt. This includes some buildings in parts of Almería, Cádiz, Castellón, Ceuta, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga, Murcia, Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Seville, Tarragona and Valencia.

READ ALSO: Spain’s new electricity rates for 2021: the tricks to help you save up to €300 a year

In the last five years, in anticipation of the new regulations, meters have already been installed in 180,000 flats in Spain, according to the Spanish Association of Heat Cost Distributors. 

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PROPERTY

Q&A: What to do if you buy a property built illegally in Spain

Buying an illegally built property in Spain is fairly common but can have several consequences down the line. Here's what you need to know, how to make it legal, whether you can sell it, and the benefits of doing so.

Published: 25 April 2024 09:35 CEST
Q&A: What to do if you buy a property built illegally in Spain

Unfortunately, over the years, many properties have been built illegally in Spain, not adhering to local rules and regulations. Foreigners who don’t know the legislation can easily fall into the trap of buying one of these properties, only to find out later down the line.

Maybe it’s when they come to sell or perhaps it’s when they want to do works or improvements on the property.

There are several reasons a home could have been built illegally in Spain. Firstly, it could have been built on the wrong type of land. This is it could have been built on suelo rústico, rural land where residential properties are prohibited, also called no urbanizable. 

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It could have also been built too near the coast. This is down to the Ley de Costas or Coastal Law, which was brought into force in December 1989 in order to protect the costas from overdevelopment and high rises spoiling the landscape. 

The law defines different areas of the beach and dictates which is public land, owned by the state and which parts can be owned privately and built on.

If you buy or own a house in one of these non-buildable zones, there are many problems you could face down the line, often sooner rather than later. This is because there are several rules you have to abide by concerning works, reforms and extensions. In some cases, they may not be allowed at all and everything must be approved first by the local government by providing a detailed project.

Because of coastal erosion, this issue is getting worse as some shoreside homes that were once built outside of these areas are finding that they’re now illegal.

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The house may have also had extensions made to it that were built without a license, meaning that the extra parts are illegal.

Q: How do I know if my home is legal or not?

A: Unfortunately it can be difficult to know if your property is legal or not. You could have bought and signed for it with a notary and it could be inscribed on the Property Registry, but this still doesn’t mean it was built to the correct specification and on the right land.

The only way to truly tell is to find out if your home ever had a Licencia de Primera Ocupación or First Occupation license, also referred to as a Cédula de Habitabilidad or Certificate of Habitability. This means that according to the authorities, it is suitable to live in and has the correct licenses.

READ ALSO: How to get Spain’s certificate of liveability for properties

Q: What happens if my property doesn’t have a habitability certificate?

A: If your property has never had a Certificate of Habitability, you must regularise the legal situation. First you’ll need to start a legalisation file (expediente de legalización) and contact the town hall. Depending on the seriousness of the case (ie. where exactly it was built, if there’s any structural danger, whether the entire property is illegal or just an extension) the cost of making an illegal property legal can be considerable. As such, each case must be studied individually with the help of an expert to determine whether it is even feasible or worth the investment.

The next step is to bring in an architect and check whether the property complies with all the building regulations. If it does, you simply need present the expediente de legalización to your local town hall, who will confirm whether or not the property adheres to building regulations and can be made legal.

If it doesn’t, you’ll need to consider whether it will comply with the regulations after some renovations. If that’s the case, you’ll need to draw up a renovations project document (proyecto de reforma) outlining the proposed changes and how they will adhere to building regulations. It must be presented to the town hall along with your expediente de legalización.

According to law firm Acal, the legalisation process can be broken down into steps as follows:

  • Contact the town hall.
  • Begin with the expediente de legalización when the town hall confirm whether or not the property can be made legal.
  • Pay the corresponding fees and taxes (in this case it will be IBI) depending on your municipality and region.
  • If you need to make renovations, obtain the proyecto de reforma and hire an architect.
  • Obtain a building permit from the town hall.
  • Once completed, register the property in the Land Registry.

READ ALSO: What is Spain’s IBI tax and how do I pay it?

Q: Do I really need to make my property legal?

A: Yes, because it will benefit you in the long run. It doesn’t matter what the previous owner told you when you were originally buying the property, owning a property that isn’t fully legal (or legal at all) can create problems and even lead to fines worth up to 20 percent of the property’s value in extreme cases.

By going through the legalisation process and making the relevant renovations, if necessary, you gain a legal property for all purposes and with all the benefits that entails.

You will not have problems setting up, paying, or cancelling electricity, water or gas utility services. You won’t have to undertake reforms and renovation work unofficially, avoiding the eyes of the authorities. Instead you’ll be able to register your property in the Land Registry, which will make things much easier when you decide to sell it or pass it on.

In terms of selling it, perhaps that is the biggest benefit of legalising your illegal property: by registering it properly, you will be able to benefit from its full value when selling it. When a property is illegal, the appraised value will probably be no more than 40-45 percent of its real value at best.

The renovations needed to get your property in shape to meet the building regulations could be costly, but will they cost you half of the total value of your property? 

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