What an EPC is
An Energy Performance Certificate rates how much energy a dwelling is calculated to need across a year, expressed both as a total and per square metre of useful floor area. It reports delivered energy, primary energy and carbon dioxide emissions, and places the dwelling on a rating scale that a buyer or tenant can compare against other properties.
The certificate is a standardised assessment. It is not a measure of last year's electricity bills. Two identical apartments receive the same rating whether one is occupied by a family of five and the other stands empty.
When you need one
Malta transposed the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2010/31/EU) through Legal Notice 376 of 2012. A valid certificate is required when a dwelling is:
- Sold — the certificate passes to the buyer
- Rented — the certificate passes to the tenant
- Advertised — the energy rating must appear in the listing
- Newly constructed — as part of demonstrating compliance
A certificate is valid for ten years, provided the fabric and services are not materially altered. New apertures, added insulation, a change of heating or cooling plant, or a photovoltaic installation all change the underlying calculation, and the existing certificate stops describing the dwelling accurately.
What gets assessed
The calculation runs a monthly energy balance under EPRDM — the national procedure for residential dwellings, built on MSA EN ISO 13790. The heating season runs November to April, the cooling season May to October.
Building fabric
Every element of the thermal envelope is assessed for its U-value: external walls, roof, exposed and ground floors, and all apertures. Maltese construction brings specific complications — double-leaf franka walls with bond stones bridging the cavity, torba fill, traditional deffun roofs, and beam-and-block ceilings each behave differently and are calculated differently.
Where the construction is known, U-values are calculated from the actual build-up rather than taken from default tables. Defaults are a fallback, and they are usually pessimistic. For a property with better construction than the tables assume, calculating properly produces a better and more honest rating.
Apertures
Windows and doors need both a U-value and a g-value — the solar transmittance. In the Maltese climate the g-value matters as much as the U-value, because unwanted solar gain drives the cooling load through six months of the year. Manufacturer declarations or a certified window energy rating take precedence over tabulated fallbacks.
Services and generation
Space heating and cooling, water heating, lighting and ventilation are all included, net of on-site generation. Photovoltaic output and solar water heating are credited against demand.
What is excluded
The assessment covers the self-contained dwelling only. Common corridors and communal staircases are outside scope, as are garages — whether or not they are reached through an internal door. Washrooms count only where reached by an internal staircase. A floor sitting above a conditioned apartment is an internal element, not part of the envelope.
The process
- Brief and quote — property type, floor area and location; fixed fee confirmed before any work begins.
- Site survey — measured survey of the envelope, construction build-ups, apertures, plant and any generation. Photographic record taken.
- Calculation — U-values computed to EN ISO 6946 from the recorded build-ups, then modelled through the approved national software.
- Issue — certificate registered and issued, with the accompanying recommendations report.
Fee and what is included
Every EPC is quoted individually, because the work scales with the building. A one-bedroom apartment with four external elements is a different job from a traditional townhouse with a courtyard, split levels and mixed construction. Pricing is driven by total useful floor area and the number of distinct elements to be measured and calculated.
The fee is fixed on confirmation and does not change afterwards. You will have a quote back without a site visit — floor area, property type and locality are enough to price it.
Quoted fees are inclusive of the €75 registration fee payable on submission of the certificate, so the figure you are quoted is the figure you pay.
What is needed to quote
- Property type — apartment, maisonette, terraced house, townhouse, villa
- Approximate total useful floor area in m²
- Locality
- Whether the property is existing or being assessed from plans
What is needed to start
- Architectural plans, where available — these shorten the survey considerably
- Planning Authority permit number, for newer properties
- Access to the property for the measured survey, including roof where reachable
- Details of heating, cooling and water heating plant, and any photovoltaic or solar water heating installation
Turnaround
One week from site survey to issued certificate for a standard property. Unusually complex buildings — mixed construction, extensive glazing, split levels — may take longer, and that is confirmed with the quote rather than discovered afterwards. Where a certificate is needed against a fixed deadline, such as a promise of sale or a listing going live, say so at enquiry and it will be scheduled accordingly.
Why the assessor matters
An EPC is only as good as the survey behind it. Where build-ups are assumed rather than recorded, and defaults are used in place of calculation, the rating drifts from the building. That matters in two directions: an unduly poor rating depresses a sale, and an unduly good one leaves a buyer with a property that does not perform as the certificate promised.
GENCO is led by Ing. Nathan Gatt, Warranted Mechanical Engineer (Warrant No. 2140) and REWS ISO 50001 Energy Auditor. Every element is calculated from the recorded construction. Where a property would benefit from retrofit, the recommendations are costed against real payback rather than listed generically.
Common questions
Is an EPC legally required?
Yes — on sale, on rental, and the rating must appear in the advertisement.
Does my usage affect the rating?
No. EPRDM applies standardised occupancy, set-points and appliance assumptions. The rating describes the dwelling, not the household.
Does location within Malta change the result?
No. A single climate dataset applies across the Maltese Islands. There is no north–south or coastal–inland variation in the calculation.
Can I get one from plans, before construction?
Yes. Design-stage certificates are calculated from the specified construction. Where the build departs from the design, an as-built assessment is needed for the certificate to stay accurate.
How long does an EPC take in Malta?
One week from the site survey to the issued certificate for a standard property. The survey itself typically takes between one and three hours depending on size.
Do you do commercial buildings?
EPCs through GENCO are for domestic properties. For commercial and industrial sites we carry out ISO 50002 energy audits, which is a measured investigation rather than a standardised rating.