The Telegraph reports that unsuspecting home-owners in Spain are being targeted by a new scam involving bogus home energy efficiency certificates issued by unqualified assessors.

From 1 June of this year, landlords and vendors in Spain who want to sell or rent their homes need an energy efficiency certificate from a registered assessor, much like energy performance certificates in the UK.

Energy efficiency certificate should provide objective information on the energy characteristics of the a building. This allows potential buyers or lessors to assess and compare the energy characteristics of different buildings in their decision prior to procurement or signing of a lease.

Of course, these certificates don’t come free, and therein lies the scam. In most cases certificates costs several hundred Euros to obtain.

According to a recent article in The Telegraph, scammers are taking advantage of the confusion surrounding the new energy certificates to rip off unsuspecting expat home-owners in Spain.

Industry experts have warned that Spain is rife with unqualified assessors offering cheap certificates while others are “guaranteeing” an A-rating which is illegal.

Another scam involves issuing the certificate without visiting the premises, report The Telegraph.

I’m not surprised at all. There is a lot of confusion surrounding the new energy certificates, which are administered at a regional level, and official communication on the question has been abysmal. Expats and holiday-home owners are always an easy target for this sort of scam, usually carried out by their fellow countrymen.

Expats in Spain warned over property certificate scam
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/expatproperty/10199999/Expats-in-Spain-warned-over-property-certificate-scam.html
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