New homes with zero emissions. And for all other more stringent efficiency requirements. Europe’s controversial turnaround on emissions from public and private buildings could gradually become a reality in the coming weeks, leading to the restructuring of the entire European building stock to make it more sustainable. The battle in the EU institutional arena is still completely open, with over 1,500 amendments proposed by MEPs to the text finalized by the European Commission.
But the update of the European directive does not convince the majority. “The house is sacred and cannot be touched”, comments the group leader of the Brothers of Italy in the Chamber, Tommaso Foti, announcing that the group has “presented a resolution in Parliament to ask that the government intervene to prevent the approval of a law which would harm millions of Italian property owners».
Brothers of Italy, added Foti, “warns against the European Union’s attempt to foist on Italy, with the directive on energy efficiency, a disguised asset that harms the rights of the owners”.
What the European directive provides
Here are all the main elements of the latest draft under consideration by the European Parliament.
New text: by 1 January 2030, all residential properties will have to return to energy class E. Three years later it will be mandatory to switch to class D. A promotion that requires a cut in energy consumption of about 25%, with interventions such as thermal cladding, replacement of the fixtures, new condensing boilers, solar panels. To reach zero emissions by 2050.
Sanctions: skip the possible limitations on the sale or rental of houses for those who do not have the EU green sticker for the moment. In any case, it would be up to governments to decide which sanctions to apply, in addition to the automatic loss of value of non-compliant properties.
Exemptions: holiday homes, officially protected historic buildings, churches and other places of worship are excluded from the interventions. But also independent houses with an area of less than 50 square meters.
Date: the proposal for a directive was presented by the vice-president of the EU Commission, Frans Timmermans, on 15 December 2021. With a reassurance addressed above all to Italy: «No Brussels bureaucrat will confiscate your house if it is not renovated». On January 24, the text will be put to the vote in the European Parliament’s Energy Committee and could land on the plenary table in Strasbourg on March 13. After the approval from the Eurochamber, negotiations with the member countries will follow to arrive at final approval.
The situation in Italy
Out of 12.2 million residential buildings, over 9 million are “particularly polluting” and “are not able to guarantee the energy performance indicated by the new regulations and above all in the short time frame foreseen” by the proposed European directive, according to data from the Reeds. In fact, 74% of buildings in Italy were built before the entry into force of the complete legislation on energy saving and seismic safety.
The Enea-CTI monitoring, relating to the energy performance certificates issued in 2020, also shows that 75.4% of the certificates refer to properties falling into the most polluting classes, E, F, G. The latter, in particular, affects for over a third (35.3%), according to data reported by ANCE.
«In Italy, where there is widespread real estate ownership, there would be 9 million buildings to be renovated quickly, by 2030, according to the directive being studied by the EU – continued Foti -. Europe cannot pass on the costs of the energy transition to Italian families. In addition to representing a risk for the owners and for the value of the properties, the proposal represents a serious danger for the banks. A generalized reduction in the value of Italian real estate assets would consequently bring about a credit problem. The Meloni Government will take charge of the matter in order to assert the peculiarity of Italy in Europe, a nation with widespread real estate ownership and a building heritage dating back over time”.