What does ber exempt mean

What is BER Exempt?

Why are buildings BER exempt? The EPBD (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive) was tranposed into Irish law from the year 2006. The EPBD contained a number of requirements to improve the energy usage of new and existing buildings in Ireland. The EPBD is the reason Ireland has BER ratings, as it is required by EU law that house sales, tenants and users in property transactions have energy ratings on buildings.

The EPBD set out categories that allowed specific buildings to be exempt from requiring BER certificates.

The below list is the exempt list of buildings that do not require a Building Energy Rating Certificate.

• Places of worship or a building used for religious activity;
• National monuments
• Non residential industrial buildings or argicultural buildings with a low installed heating capacity
• Certain temporary buildings
• Protected structures
• Small dwellings with a useful floor area below 50m²

What does this mean for domestic BERs

A small dwelling with less than 50m2 does not need a BER cetificate as it is BER exempt. So should you get a BER? The answer is yes, as it might be exempt from requiring a BER but potential purchasers will still want to know the buildings efficiency. A BER rating on a building less than 50m2 should cost less than €100 and potentially save thousands on the sale of the property price.

The EPBD can be found here