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The goal to create an energy-efficient building stock in Europe faces practical barriers despite the recent EU agreement to transform the building sector with the adoption of ambitious energy-efficient legislation, according to the latest RICS report.

Entitled 'Towards an Energy Efficient European Building Stock', the third edition of the RICS report notes that all EU member states - with the exception of Greece and Latvia - have enacted the European Directive on Energy Efficiency of Buildings (EPBD) into national law.

RICS says it recognises the progress made in the last months by many countries including Germany, Ireland, the Benelux and the Scandinavian countries in order to tighten their minimum energy efficiency requirements. At the same time, strict controls to ensure a full implementation of the legislation has been adopted in Belgium, Germany and Portugal.

However, according to the report, many member states are still struggling to put the inspection regimes into practice. One of the major problems that most countries face is the lack of qualified and accredited experts, such as the energy inspectors in charge of the certification of buildings.

In particular, ensuring trainings and licensing of independent qualified professionals proves to be a considerable practical challenge for countries such as Romania, the Baltics, Slovenia, Greece and Italy. In addition, in some member states, such as Spain and Cyprus, market access for energy assessors is restricted to certain professions.

The report reveals that energy certification is often perceived by consumers as a burden, rather than an opportunity to save energy and improve their quality of life.