EU EPBD retrofit rules for Spanish property: what Directive 2024/1275 means for owners in 2026

The EU’s recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (Directive 2024/1275, known as the EPBD) entered into force on 28 May 2024 and required every member state to transpose it into national law by 29 May 2026. It does not impose a single EU-wide retrofit tax on your villa, but it does set binding national renovation trajectories and minimum energy performance standards that will reshape how Spanish properties are built, sold and renovated between now and 2050. Spain is transposing the directive through amendments to the Codigo Tecnico de la Edificacion (CTE), the Reglamento de Instalaciones Termicas en Edificios (RITE) and the energy certification rules under RD 390/2021, with a draft royal decree on the CTE in public consultation in late 2025 according to MITERD. If you own property on the Costa del Sol, the practical questions are which obligations bite, when, and which buildings are exempt.

What does the EPBD recast actually require?

The recast directive, adopted by the European Parliament and Council on 24 April 2024 and published in the Official Journal on 8 May 2024, replaces the earlier Directive 2010/31/EU (repealed from 30 May 2026). Its stated aim, set out in Article 1, is to achieve a fully decarbonised building stock by 2050. The European Commission reports that buildings account for around 40 per cent of final energy consumption in the Union and 36 per cent of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, while 75 per cent of the building stock remains energy-inefficient. The directive’s mechanism is not a direct EU fine on individual owners; it obliges member states to draw up national building renovation plans (Article 3), set minimum energy performance standards for the worst-performing buildings (Article 9), and make all new buildings zero-emission from 2030 (Article 7). Each member state chooses the specific tools, which is why the Spanish transposition matters more than the directive text itself.

For residential buildings the directive creates a national trajectory, not an individual mandate. Article 9(2) requires each member state to reduce the average primary energy use of its entire residential building stock by at least 16 per cent by 2030 and 20 to 22 per cent by 2035, both measured against 2020 levels, with further progressive reductions every five years until the stock reaches zero-emission status by 2050. At least 55 per cent of that decrease must come from renovating the 43 per cent worst-performing residential buildings. Member states may use minimum energy performance standards, financial support or technical assistance to hit those targets, and must not disproportionately exempt rental properties. The directive explicitly allows countries to exempt various categories of building from renovation requirements, including holiday homes and buildings of historical merit, as explained below.

Which buildings must be renovated and by when?

The directive draws a sharp line between residential and non-residential stock. For non-residential buildings, Article 9(1) sets EU-level minimum energy performance standards based on maximum energy thresholds. Member states must renovate the 16 per cent worst-performing non-residential buildings by 2030 and the 26 per cent worst-performing by 2033, with compliance checked against energy performance certificates. For residential buildings, the flexibility is greater: each country sets its own national trajectory to hit the 16 per cent and 20 to 22 per cent stock-wide reductions, choosing which buildings to target and which measures to take.

Obligation	Buildings in scope	Deadline	Legal basis
Minimum energy performance standard (non-residential)	16 per cent worst-performing	2030	Art 9(1)(a)
Minimum energy performance standard (non-residential)	26 per cent worst-performing	2033	Art 9(1)(b)
National residential trajectory	Entire residential stock	16 per cent cut by 2030	Art 9(2)
National residential trajectory	Entire residential stock	20 to 22 per cent cut by 2035	Art 9(2)
Zero-emission new build	Public-body buildings	1 Jan 2028	Art 7(1)(a)
Zero-emission new build	All new buildings	1 Jan 2030	Art 7(1)(b)
Transposition into national law	All provisions	29 May 2026	Art 35(1)
Fossil fuel boiler incentive ban	Stand-alone fossil fuel boilers	1 Jan 2025	Art 17(15)
National building renovation plan (first draft)	All member states	31 Dec 2025	Art 3(5)

The key distinction for a Costa del Sol owner is this: a permanently occupied apartment in Marbella’s old town or a 1970s urbanisation in Nueva Andalucia falls within the residential trajectory. A holiday apartment used for ten weeks a year falls under the exemption in Article 9(6)(d), which applies to residential buildings used for less than four months of the year or with expected energy consumption below 25 per cent of year-round use. The directive does not use the term “holiday home”, but the exemption is drafted to cover exactly that category.

How is Spain transposing the directive?

Spain’s transposition follows the pattern established for earlier EPBD revisions: amendments to the CTE (through the Ministry of Housing and MITERD), the RITE, and the energy certification framework under RD 390/2021. The Concerted Action EPBD forum, a collaborative platform for member state implementation, reports that Spain’s transposition of the new directive “is once again an ambitious process, involving multiple fronts: regulatory but also communication and coordination between the various administrations and professional sectors”. A draft royal decree modifying the CTE was in public consultation in November 2025, according to industry reporting, with the objective of meeting the directive’s transposition deadlines.

The existing Spanish framework already covers several EPBD elements. RD 390/2021 governs the energy performance certificate (certificado de eficiencia energetica), which uses the A to G scale the directive requires and has a maximum validity of ten years (five years for class G buildings). The CTE sets minimum energy performance requirements for new and renovated buildings. The RITE governs thermal installations. Spain’s first draft national building renovation plan was due to the Commission by 31 December 2025 under Article 3(5), and the full transposition of Articles 1 to 29 was due by 29 May 2026. Whether every provision has been formally transposed on time is a question of ongoing legislative progress; the directive allows the European Commission to open infringement proceedings against member states that miss the deadline, but the practical effect on individual owners depends on what the Spanish transposing law says, not on the directive alone.

What is a zero-emission building and when does it apply?

Article 2(2) of the directive defines a zero-emission building as one with very high energy performance, zero on-site carbon emissions from fossil fuels, and zero or very low operational greenhouse gas emissions. Its annual primary energy use must be covered by energy from renewable sources generated on-site or nearby, from a renewable energy community, from efficient district heating and cooling, or from carbon-free sources. The threshold must be at least 10 per cent below the level set for nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) as of May 2024.

From 1 January 2028, all new buildings owned by public bodies must be zero-emission. From 1 January 2030, all new buildings must meet the standard. Until those dates, new buildings must remain at least nearly zero-energy and comply with minimum energy performance requirements under Article 5. The directive also requires life-cycle global warming potential (GWP) to be calculated and disclosed in the energy performance certificate for new buildings: from 1 January 2028 for buildings over 1,000 m², and from 1 January 2030 for all new buildings. This means a buyer of new-build property on the Costa del Sol after 2030 will see a GWP figure on the EPC, adding a carbon-cost dimension to the existing energy label.

Which buildings are exempt from retrofit obligations?

Article 9(6) lists six categories that member states may exempt from the minimum energy performance standards in paragraphs 1 and 2. The most relevant for international owners of Spanish property are:

• Buildings of architectural or historical merit (Article 9(6)(a)): protected buildings where compliance would unacceptably alter their character, or where renovation is not technically or economically feasible. This is significant for the Costa del Sol’s older stock, including listed buildings in Marbella’s casco antiguo.
• Holiday homes (Article 9(6)(d)): residential buildings used for less than four months of the year, or with a limited annual time of use and expected energy consumption below 25 per cent of year-round use. This is the exemption that applies to many foreign-owned second homes on the coast.
• Small stand-alone buildings (Article 9(6)(e)): buildings with a total useful floor area of less than 50 m².
• Places of worship (Article 9(6)(b)) and temporary, industrial or agricultural buildings (Article 9(6)(c)) are also exempt.

The European Commission’s own EPBD summary confirms that countries can exempt “various categories of buildings from renovation requirements, including historical buildings and holiday homes”. This is not a blanket exemption from the energy performance certificate requirement, which applies separately, but it does mean that a qualifying holiday home is not caught by the minimum energy performance standards that drive mandatory renovation.

What support is available for retrofits?

The directive requires member states to support compliance with financial measures, technical assistance and one-stop shops, prioritising vulnerable households and people affected by energy poverty. Spain already operates energy renovation grant programmes through the IDAE and regional governments, which we cover in our energy renovation subsidies guide. The directive also introduces the renovation passport (Article 22), a voluntary roadmap for staged deep renovation that can be issued jointly with the EPC. From 1 January 2025, member states must not grant financial incentives for stand-alone fossil fuel boilers, though hybrid systems combining a boiler with solar thermal or a heat pump remain eligible.

For a property owner planning renovation work, the interaction between the EPBD obligations and the existing planning regime matters. Our refurbishment permits guide explains the licencia de obra process, and our building and renovating villa cost guide covers real EUR per m² construction costs on the Costa del Sol. An energy retrofit that qualifies for the national grant programme and uses the renovation passport to plan stages can spread the cost over several years rather than requiring a single deep renovation.

What should a Costa del Sol property owner do now?

The directive’s obligations land on member states, not directly on individual owners, but the transposing law will eventually create compliance triggers. A practical approach for a Costa del Sol owner is to obtain or update an energy performance certificate to establish the current EPC class, check whether the property qualifies for the holiday-home or heritage exemption, and monitor the Spanish transposing regulations as they move through the BOE. The EPBD’s residential trajectory gives Spain until 2030 to deliver the first 16 per cent stock-wide cut, so the binding individual obligations, if any, will appear in the national building renovation plan and the CTE amendments, not in the directive itself.

The directive’s tenant safeguards are also worth noting. Article 17(19) requires member states to introduce effective protections when renovation work is carried out on rented buildings, including rent support or caps on rent increases, particularly for vulnerable households. A non-resident landlord letting a Costa del Sol property long-term should watch how Spain implements this provision, as it could affect the economics of a retrofit that improves the EPC class but raises the rentable value.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and individual circumstances differ. Verify current requirements with an independent lawyer (abogado) or tax advisor (gestor/asesor fiscal) before acting.