Effective from 1 January 2027, the previously applicable blanket exemption from the energy performance certificate requirement for listed buildings will be abolished. This change, as Younes Frank Ehrhardt, managing director of Haus & Grund Hessen, points out, means that heritage-protected buildings will henceforth be subject to the same regulations as other existing properties. Owners of listed properties are thus still exempt from presenting an energy performance certificate upon sale, rental, or lease until the end of 2026.
The legal basis for this new regulation is the amendment to the Building Modernisation Act of 23 July 2026, specifically Art. 2 No. 31 letter c, BGBl. 2026 I No. 226, which revises § 79 para. 4 GModG, and comes into force on 1 January 2027. § 79 para. 4, valid until the end of 2026, still explicitly exempted listed buildings from essential energy performance certificate requirements. From 2027, owners must provide a valid energy performance certificate for transactions such as the sale, new letting, or lease of a heritage-protected property and make it accessible to potential interested parties.
Impact on owners and landlords
For owners of listed buildings, this means an adaptation to general market standards. An energy performance certificate, once issued, remains valid for a period of ten years. Violations of these obligations can be classified as administrative offences and incur fines of up to EUR 10,000, in accordance with § 108 para. 1 No. 18, 19 GModG. Younes Frank Ehrhardt explains that landlords of heritage-protected properties will in future be obliged to state the characteristic values of the energy performance certificate directly in property advertisements to avoid fines.
The new regulation affects a considerable number of properties in Hesse, as an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 residential buildings there are either directly listed or part of a listed ensemble. All these properties are affected by the impending change in law.
Grandfathering and energy requirements
Despite the introduction of the energy performance certificate requirement, the special protection mechanisms for listed buildings remain in place. Mr Ehrhardt emphasises that the change does not imply an automatic refurbishment obligation. Energy requirements can still be waived if their fulfilment would impair the protected fabric or appearance of the property or cause disproportionately high financial expenditure. Although heritage protection loses its blanket exemption from the energy performance certificate from 2027, it retains its relevance in assessing which energy measures can or should actually be implemented for a listed building.
