EPC rating and property value: real impact on purchase price and rent

The Certificado de Eficiencia Energética (CEE, Spain's energy performance certificate or EPC) has been compulsory for selling or letting any property in Spain since 2013. The certificate gives the property a letter from A (maximum efficiency) to G (minimum efficiency) and states the estimated primary energy consumption in kWh/m²/year and the estimated CO₂ emissions. From 2026, the new European rules on the energy performance of buildings are starting to put real pressure on low-rated properties (F and G), with growing implications for their market value and how easily they can be let.

The impact of the CEE on the purchase price

Studies of the Spanish property market show that properties with a high energy rating (A or B) sell for between 5% and 18% more than equivalent properties rated F or G in the same area. That gap varies significantly by type of market:

• Markets with more environmentally aware buyers (big cities, professional classes): The A vs. G gap can be 10-20%. End buyers looking for a main residence in Madrid, Barcelona or San Sebastián value energy efficiency more than the pure-yield investor does.
• Yield-investor markets (medium-sized inland cities): The gap is smaller (5-12%) because the cash-flow investor values a low purchase price more than the energy rating. A G-rated flat in Jaén at €350/m² is still an attractive buy if the price is right.

The impact of the CEE on rent and on how quickly a property lets

Tenants are increasingly aware that an F- or G-rated flat will cost them significantly more in heating and air conditioning—in some cases €100-250/month more in energy bills. That's why, in markets with enough rental supply, G-rated flats take longer to let and may need a rent reduction to compete with more efficient assets.

In markets with high demand and scarce supply (cities with a large student population, such as Salamanca or Cáceres), the energy rating barely affects how quickly a flat lets: it lets just as fast with a C as with a G because there is more demand than supply. But in markets with more balance between supply and demand, the energy letter starts to make a difference.

The upgrades that raise the energy rating most per euro spent

• Replacing windows with double glazing and thermal-break frames: This is the upgrade with the biggest impact on the rating per euro invested in the climates of inland Spain (Valladolid, Salamanca, Cuenca). Cost: €3,000-8,000 for a standard flat. It can raise the rating from G to D or C.
• Installing an air-source heat pump (aerotermia) or another efficient heat pump: It replaces the gas boiler with an electric heating/cooling system with a COP of 3-4 (for every electric kWh it produces 3-4 kWh of heat). Cost: €4,000-9,000. The impact on the rating is large because it drastically reduces primary energy consumption.
• Improving the insulation of the roof: In top-floor flats, insulating the ceiling has the biggest impact for the cost. In middle-floor flats, insulating the external walls (with or without internal lining) is more complex and expensive.
• Installing solar photovoltaic panels: In owners' associations that allow it, solar panels on the roof improve the rating of the whole building. For an individual flat, panels are only possible if there is a private terrace or if the owners' association approves them collectively.

The new European rules for 2030: the regulatory risk of a G

The 2024 European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) does not ban letting G-rated homes: it requires each Member State to reduce the average primary energy consumption of its residential stock by at least 16% by 2030 and by between 20% and 22% by 2035 (compared with 2020), and more than half of that reduction has to come from renovating the least efficient homes. The deadline for transposing it was 29 May 2026. For the investor holding G-rated assets in 2026, that 4-year regulatory horizon is a driver for planning energy upgrades.

Related resources: To work out whether investing in energy upgrades increases the asset's bank valuation (key to the BRRR strategy), the article on how bank valuations work explains that the CEE is a factor the valuer takes into account. For renovation ROI where the energy upgrade is one of the items, the article on renovation ROI has the method. For auction assets and bank repossessions, where a G rating is common, the RadarPro inventory also filters by property features.