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Slovenia

Green lease law and regulation in Slovenia

Table of contents
  1. 1. Issues regarding the building itself
    1. a. Requirements under public building law regarding energy efficiency.
    2. b. Do the regulations applicable under a) only affect new buildings or have all the buildings be provided with energy efficiency facilities?
    3. c. Does the market pay any attention to energy certificates?
    4. d. How popular is certification of buildings (LEED, BREEAM, etc.)?
  2. 2. Issues regarding the use of the building
    1. a. Can the landlord push on the operating costs (mainly for electricity, water, heating) to the tenant following consumption or does that need to be established by the lease? Is there a distinction drawn between different types of buildings (e.g. residential, office, commercial, etc.)?
    2. b. Does a landlord have the right to perform construction measures to improve the energy efficiency of a building (also against the intention of the tenant). Is there a distinction drawn between different types of buildings (e.g. residential, office, commercial etc.)?
    3. c. Does a landlord have the right to receive a reimbursement of the costs for the measures under b)? Is there a distinction drawn between different types of buildings (e.g. residential, office, commercial, etc.)?
    4. d. If the respective rights mentioned in b) and c) do not exist by statute, but need to be established by the lease contract: Does a standard for such regulations exist (and what is its content)? Please give examples of typical regulations.
    5. e. Which other obligations regarding sustainability (building materials, energy efficiency, waste management etc.) exist? If they need to be imposed by the lease agreement: does a standard for such regulations exist (and what is its content)? Please give examples of typical regulations.
  3. 3. Allocation of costs; incentives to improve sustainability of buildings or its use.
Slovenia

1. Issues regarding the building itself

a. Requirements under public building law regarding energy efficiency.

Pursuant to Article 9 of the Construction Act (Zakon o graditvi objektov, ZGO-1 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia no. 14/2005 et al.) all building have to be constructed in such a way that their purpose, inter alia, fulfil technical requirements on energy-saving and heat retention.

Pursuant to Article 48 of the Construction Act it is necessary during project design to consider also measures for health protection, public safety and protection of property, health and safety at work, fire safety, environmental protection and energy efficiency.

Rules on efficient use of energy in buildings (Pravilnik o učinkoviti rabi energije v stavbah, Official Gazette of Republic of Slovenia, no. 47/2009 et al.) stipulates technical requirements for thermal installation, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, preparation of hot drinking water, lightning, renewable energy systems and methodology for calculating the energy characteristic of buildings.

Pursuant to Article 4 of the Slovenian Energy Act (Energetski zakon, EZ , Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia no. 27/2007 et al.) buildings must have an energy performance certificate. The certificate is an official document which includes data on the energy performance of a building, including recommendations for improving energy efficiency.

Pursuant to Article 93a of Energy Act all condominium owners of buildings must provide a measurement of heat consumption for each building. This is important, because in Slovenia there is a very high percentage of condominium ownership.

b. Do the regulations applicable under a) only affect new buildings or have all the buildings be provided with energy efficiency facilities?

Energy performance certificate of building is required for all new buildings, some of already existing public buildings and for other existing buildings when they are sold or given on lease.

Article 93a of Energy Act is applicable to new and old condominium buildings.

The Construction Act is applicable to new bulidings and, in the case of renovation and other interventions which require a building permit, and to allready existing buildings.

The rules on efficient use of energy in buildings are applicable to all new buildings and some buildings under the reconstruction. The rules are not applicable to buildings such as tanks, agricultural, storage, religious, cemetrey, industrial buildings, etc.

c. Does the market pay any attention to energy certificates?

The issue of energy certificate is not yet carried out in practice due to lack of qualified personnel. It is currently foreseen that the first qualified experts start their work in November-December 2011, with the first certificates being delivered about 3 months later. However, impending national elections might cause this to be further delayed.

Certification of buildings is not carried out yet however it is envisaged in the near future.

2. Issues regarding the use of the building

a. Can the landlord push on the operating costs (mainly for electricity, water, heating) to the tenant following consumption or does that need to be established by the lease? Is there a distinction drawn between different types of buildings (e.g. residential, office, commercial, etc.)?

There is no explicit provision providing that the landlord has to charge operating costs. This is usually agreed in the lease contract (along with rent and other matters). In the case of residential premises, the tenant is normally obliged to pay operating costs in addition either to the landlord or directly to the service provider. The landlord and the tenant have to determine the payment method (including operating costs in rent or paid in addition to rent). Agreement on cost-sharing is one of the essential components of the lease contract.

In the case of office buildings and business premises, the tenant has to pay rent and cost for the use of common areas and common services, if the lease contract does not state otherwise. Usually the parties to the contract determine the costs that are not included in the rent and the method of payment.

b. Does a landlord have the right to perform construction measures to improve the energy efficiency of a building (also against the intention of the tenant). Is there a distinction drawn between different types of buildings (e.g. residential, office, commercial etc.)?

In the case of residential premises, the owner can carry out work which will improve the energy efficiency of a building, unless this might provide the tenant or his family overload, which is caused due to the extent and duration of works, consequences of work, increased costs of rent and the previous tenant’s own investment in improving housing exceeds the reasonable benefit of the owner and any other owners and tenants in the building.

In the case of office buildings and business premises, during the lease term the landlord should not make changes without the consent of tenant if this would prevent its use.

The landlord has a right to perform construction measures to improve the energy efficiency of a building if this is agreed in the lease contract.

c. Does a landlord have the right to receive a reimbursement of the costs for the measures under b)? Is there a distinction drawn between different types of buildings (e.g. residential, office, commercial, etc.)?

If the landlord has performed construction measures mention under b) he is not entitled to charge the costs and is therefore not entitled to increase the rent. Any reimbursement would have to be contractually agreed. This applies to all types of buildings.

d. If the respective rights mentioned in b) and c) do not exist by statute, but need to be established by the lease contract: Does a standard for such regulations exist (and what is its content)? Please give examples of typical regulations.

The rights mentioned in b) and c) need to be established by the lease contract. No standard for such regulations exists.

e. Which other obligations regarding sustainability (building materials, energy efficiency, waste management etc.) exist? If they need to be imposed by the lease agreement: does a standard for such regulations exist (and what is its content)? Please give examples of typical regulations.

Technical requirements on mechanical resistance and stability have to be fulfilled during construction and planning.

No standard for such regulations exists.

3. Allocation of costs; incentives to improve sustainability of buildings or its use.

The best way to provide allocation of costs between landlord and tenant is to arrange this at the start of the lease contract. Any changes in the lease contract have to be agreed between the parties and must be annexed to the lease contract.