B 866
L.N. 134 of 2020
BUILDING REGULATION ACT
(CAP. 513)
Energy Performance of Buildings  (Amendment) Regulations, 2020
IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 6(1) and (2) of
the Building Regulation Act, the Minister for Transport, Infras tructure
and Capital Projects, with c oncurrence of the Minister for Foreign and
European Affairs , has made the following regulations:-
Citation.
S.L. 513.01.1. The title of these regulations is the Energy Performance of
Buildings (Amendment) Regulati ons, 2020, transposing Directive
(EU) 2018/844 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30th
May 2018 amending Directive 2010/ 31/EU on the performance of
Buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, and th ese
regulations shall be read and construed as one with the Energy
Performance of Buildings Regulations, hereinafter referred to as "the
principal regulations".
Amends 
regulation 2 of 
the principal regulations.2. Regulation 2 of the principal r egulations shall be amended
as follows:
(a) immediately after the definition  "building" there
shall be added the following new definition:
" "building automation and control system" means a
system comprising all products , software and engineering
services that can support ener gy efficient, economical and
safe operation of technical building systems through
automatic controls and by facilitating the manual
management of those technical building systems;";
(b) immediately before the definition  "heat pump" there
shall be added the following  new definition:
" "heat generator" means t he part of a heating system
that generates useful heat using one or more of the
following processes:
(a)  the combustion of fuels in, for example, a
boiler;
(b) the Joule effect, taking place in the
heating elements of an electric resistance heating
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system;
(c) capturing heat from ambient air,
ventilation exhaust air, or a water or ground heat
source using a heat pump;";
(c) immediately after the definition  "heat pump" there
shall be added the following new definition:
" "heating system" means a combination of the
components required to provide a form of indoor airtreatment, by which the tem perature is increased;";
(d)  the definition  "technical  building system" shall be
substituted by the following:
" "technical building system" means technical
equipment for space heating, space cooling, ventilation,domestic hot water, built-in lighting, building automationand control, on-site electricity generation, or a combination
thereof, including those systems using energy from
renewable sources, of a building or building unit;".
Amends 
regulation 8 of the principal 
regulations.3. Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 8 of the principal
regulations shall be substituted by the following:
"(2) Such requirements shall be applied to the renovated
building or building unit as a whole. Additionally or alternatively,
requirements may be applied to the renovated building elements and,
in relation to buildings undergoing major renovation, high-effi ciency
alternative systems, in so far as this is technically, function ally and
economically feasible, shall be encouraged and the issues of he althy
indoor climate conditions, fire safety and risks related to int ense
seismic activity s hall be addressed.". 
Adds new 
regulation  to 
the principal 
regulations. 4. Immediately after regulation 8 of the principal regulations,
there shall be added the  following new regulation:
"Strategy to 
support 
renovation.8A. (1) The Building Regulation Board shall
establish a long-term renova tion strategy to support the
renovation of the national stock of residential and non-
residential buildings, both public and private, into a
highly energy efficient and decarbonised building stockby 2050, facilitating the cost-effective transformation of
existing buildings into nearly  zero-energy buildings. Each
long-term renovation strate gy shall be submitted in
accordance with the applic able planning and reporting
obligations and shall encompass: 
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(a) an overview of the national building
stock, based, as appropriate , on statistical sampling
and expected share of renovated buildings in 2020;
(b) the identification of cost-effective
approaches to renovation relevant to the building
type and climatic zone, considering potential
relevant trigger points, where applicable, in the life-cycle of the building;
(c) policies and actions to stimulate cost-
effective deep renovation of buildings, includingstaged deep renovation, and to support targetedcost-effective measures and renovation for example
by introducing an optional scheme for building
renovation passports;
(d) an overview of policies and actions to
t a r g e t  t h e  w o r s t  p e r f o rming segments of the
national building stock, split-incentive dilemmas
and market failures, and an outline of relevantnational actions that contribute to the alleviation ofenergy poverty;
(e) policies and actions to target all public
buildings;
(f) an overview of national initiatives to
promote smart technologies and well-connected
buildings and communities , as well as skills and
education in the construction and energy efficiency
sectors; and
(g) an evidence-based estimate of expected
energy savings and wider benefits, such as those
related to health, safety and air quality:
Provided that to support the mobilisation of
investments into the renovation needed to achieve
the goals referred to in this regulation, thecompetent authorities or bodies to which the
competent authorities have  delegated responsibility,
shall facilitate access to appropriate mechanisms
for:
(i) the aggregation of projects,
including by investment platforms or groups,
and by consortia of small and medium-sized
enterprises, to enable investor access as wellas packaged solutions for potential clients;
(ii)  the reduction of  the perceived risk
of energy efficiency operations for investorsand the private sector;
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(iii)  the use of public funding to
leverage additional priv ate-sector investment
or address specifi c market failures;
(iv)  guiding investments into an
energy efficient public building stock, in line
with Eurostat guidance; and
(v)  accessible and transparent
advisory tools, such as one-stop-shops for
consumers and energy advisory services, on
relevant energy efficiency renovations and
financing instruments.
(2) In its long-term renovation strategy, the
Building Regulation Board shall set out a roadmap withmeasures and domestically established measurable
progress indicators, with a  view to the long-term 2050
goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Union
by 80-95% compared to 1990, in order to ensure a highlyenergy efficient and decarbonised national building stock
and in order to facilitate the  cost-effective transformation
of existing buildings into n early zero-energy buildings.
The roadmap shall include indicative milestones for2030, 2040 and 2050, and specify how they contribute toachieving the Union’s energy efficiency targets in
accordance with Directive 2012/27/EU.
(3) To support the development of the long-term
renovation strategy, the Building Regulation Board shall
carry out a public consu ltation on its long-term
renovation strategy prior to submitting it to the
Commission. A summary of t he results of the public
consultation to the long-term renovation strategy shall be
annexed to the document in tended to be submitted the
Commission:
 Provided that the modalities for consultation
shall be established in an inclusive way during theimplementation of its long-term renovation strategy:
Provided further that the details of the
implementation of its most recent long-term renovation
strategy shall be annexed to the long-term renovation
strategy, including on the planned policies and actions:
Provided further that the long-term renovation
strategy to address fire safety and risks related to intense
seismic activity affecting energy efficiency renovationsand the lifetime of buildings may be made use of.".
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Amends 
regulation 9 of 
the principal 
regulations.5. Immediately after sub-regulation (6) of regulation 9 of the
principal regulations, there shall be added the following new sub-
regulations:
"(7) Where technically and economically feasible, new
buildings shall be equipped with  self-regulating devices for th e
separate regulation of the tem perature in each room or, where justified,
in a designated heated zone of the building unit. In existing b uildings,
the installation of such self-regulating devices shall be requi red when
heat generators are replaced, where technically and economicall y
feasible.
(8) New non-residential bui ldings and non-residential
buildings undergoing major renovation, with more than ten parking
spaces, shall be installed with  at least one recharging point within the
meaning of Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of
the Council and ducting infrastr ucture, namely conduits for ele ctric
cables, for at least one in every five parking spaces to enable  t h e
i n s t a l l a t i o n  a t  a  l a t e r  s t a g e  o f recharging points for electric  vehicles
where:
(a) the car park is located inside the building, and, for
major renovations, renovation meas ures include the car park or
the electrical infrastructure of the building; or
(b) the car park is physically adjacent to the building,
and, for major renovations, renova tion measures include the car
park or the electrical infra structure of the car park.
(9) The Minister shall lay down requirements for the
installation of a minimum number of recharging points for all n on-
residential buildings with more than twenty parking spaces, by 1
January 2025: 
 Provided that the Minister may decide not to lay down or
apply the requirement s described in sub-regulations (8) and (9)  of this
regulation to buildings owned and occupied by small and medium-
sized enterprises as defined in T itle I of the Annex to Commiss ion
Recommendation 2003/361/EC. 
(10) New residential buildings and residential buildings
undergoing major renovation, with more than ten parking spaces,  shall
be installed with ducting infras tructure, namely conduits for e lectric
cables, for every parking space to enable the installation, at a later
stage, of recharging points fo r electric vehi cles, where:
(a) the car park is located inside the building, and, for
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major renovations, renovation measures include the car park or
the electric infrastructure of the building; or
(b) the car park is physically adjacent to the building,
and, for major renovations, renovation measures include the carpark or the electrical infra structure of the car park:
 Provided that the Minister may decide not to apply
sub-regulations (8), (9) and (10) to specific categories ofbuildings where:
(i) with regard to sub-re gulations (8) and (10),
building permit applications  or equivalent applications
have been submitted by 10 March 2021;
(ii) the cost of the recharging and ducting
installations exceeds 7% of the total cost of the major
renovation of the building;
(iii) a public building is already covered by
comparable requirements accor ding to the transposition of
Directive 2014/94/EU.
(11) The Minister shall:
(a) provide for measures in order to simplify the
deployment of recharging points in new and existing residentialand non-residential buildings and address possible regulatory
barriers, including permitting and approval procedures, without
prejudice to the prope rty and tenancy law. 
(b) consider the need for coherent policies for buildings,
soft and green mobility and urban planning. 
(c) ensure that, when a technical building system is
installed, replaced or upgraded, the overall energy performance
of the altered part, and where re levant, of the complete altere d
system, is assessed. The results shall be documented and passed
on to the building owner, so that they remain available and can
be used for the verification of  compliance with the minimum
requirements laid down pursuant to sub-regulation (1) of this
Regulation and the issue of ene rgy performance certificates.
Without prejudice to Regulati on 13, the Building Regulation
Office shall decide whether to require the issuing of a newenergy performance certificate.".
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Amends 
regulation 11 of 
the principal regulations.6. Sub-regulation (3) of regulation 11 of the principal
regulations shall be substituted by the following:
"(3) The Building Regulation Of fice shall link its financial
measures for energy efficiency i mprovements in the renovation o f
buildings to the targeted or achieved energy savings, as determ ined by
one or more of the following criteria:
(a) the energy performance of the equipment or material
used for the renovation; in which case, the equipment or materi al
used for the renovation is to be installed by an installer with  the
relevant level of certification or qualification;
(b) standard values for calculation of energy savings in
buildings;
(c) the improvement achieved due to such renovation by
comparing energy performance ce rtificates issued before and
after renovation;
(d) the results of an energy audit;
(e) the results of another relevant, transparent and
proportionate method that shows the improvement in energy
performance:
 Provided that databases for energy performance certificates
shall allow data to be gathered on the measured or calculated e nergy
consumption of the buildings c overed, including at least public
buildings for which an energy performance certificate, as refer red to
and have been issued in accorda nce with regulation 12 and regul ation
13.
 Provided further that at least aggregated anonymised data
compliant with Union and nationa l data protection requirements shall
be made available on request for  statistical and research purpo ses and
to the building owner.".
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Substitutes 
regulation 17 of 
the principal regulations.7. Regulation 17 shall be substituted by the following:
"Inspection of heating 
systems.17. (1) The Building Regulation Office shall
provide all the necessary measures to establish regular
inspections of the accessible parts of heating systems or of
systems for combined space heating and ventilation, withan effective rated output of over 70kW, such as the heat
generator, control system and circulation pump(s) used for
heating buildings. The inspection shall include anassessment of the efficiency and sizing of the heat
generator compared with the heating requirements of the
building and, where relevant, consider the capabilities of
the heating system or of the system for combined space
heating and ventilation to optimise its performance under
typical or average operating conditions:
Provided that where no changes have been
made to the heating system or to the system for combinedspace heating and ventilation or to the heating
requirements of the buildi ng following an inspection
carried out pursuant to thi s regulation, the Building
Regulation Office may choose not to require theassessment of the heat generator sizing to be repeated.
(2) Technical building systems that are explicitly
covered by an agreed energy performance criterion or a
contractual arrangement specifying an agreed level of
energy efficiency improvement, such as energy
performance contracting, or tha t are operated by a utility
or network operator and ther efore subject to performance
monitoring measures on the system side, shall be exemptfrom the requirements laid down in sub-regulation (1),
provided that the overall impact of such an approach isequivalent to that resulting from sub-regulation (1).
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(3) As an alternative to sub-regulation (1) and
provided that the overall impact is equivalent to that
resulting from sub-regulat ion (1), the Building
Regulations Office may opt to t ake measures to ensure the
provision of advice to users c oncerning the replacement of
heat generators, other modifi cations to the heating system
or to the system for combined space heating andventilation and alternative solutions to assess theefficiency and appropriate size of those systems. Before
applying these alternative measures, the Building
Regulation Office shall, by means of submitting a report
to the Commission, document the equivalence of the
impact of those measures to the impact of the measuresreferred to in sub-regulation (1). Such a report shall be
submitted in accordance with  the applicable planning and
reporting obligations.
(4) The Building Regulation Office shall lay down
requirements to ensure that, where technically and
economically feasible, non-residential buildings with an
effective rated output for hea ting systems or systems for
combined space heating and ventilation of over 290kW
are equipped with buildi ng automation and control
systems by 2025. The building automation and controlsystems shall be capable of:
(a) continuously monitoring, logging,
analysing and allowing for  adjusting energy use;
(b) benchmarking the building’s energy
efficiency, detecting losses in efficiency of technicalbuilding systems, and informing the person
responsible for the facilities or technical building
management about opportunities for energyefficiency improvement; and
(c) allowing communication with connected
technical building system s and other appliances
inside the building, and being interoperable with
technical building systems across different types ofproprietary technologies, devices and
manufacturers.
(5) the Building Regulation Office may lay down
requirements to ensure that residential buildings are
equipped with:
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Substitutes 
regulation 18 of the principal 
regulations.8. Regulation 18 of the principal regulations shall be
substituted by the following:(a) the functionality of continuous electronic
monitoring that measures systems’ efficiency and
informs building owners or managers when it has
fallen significantly and when system servicing is
necessary; and
(b) effective control functionalities to ensure
optimum generation, distri bution, storage and use of
energy.
(6) Buildings that comply with sub-regulation (4)
or sub-regulation (5) shall be exempt from therequirements laid down in sub-regulation (1).".
"Inspection of 
air-
conditioning 
systems.18. (1) The Building Regulation Office shall
provide the necessary measures to establish regular
inspections of the accessibl e parts of air-conditioning
systems or of systems for combined air-conditioning and
ventilation, with an effect ive rated output of over 70kW.
The inspection shall include an assessment of theefficiency and sizing of t he air-conditioning system
compared with the cooling requirements of the building
and, where relevant, consider the capabilities of the air-
conditioning system or of the system for combined air-conditioning and ventilation to optimise its performance
under typical or avera ge operating conditions:
Provided that where no changes have been
made to the air-conditioning system or to the system for
combined air-conditioning and ventilation or to thecooling requirements of the building following an
inspection carried out pursuant to this paragraph, the
Building Regulation Office may choose not to require the
assessment of the sizing of the air-c onditioning system to
be repeated:
Provided further that in the event that the
Building Regulation Office maintains more stringent
requirements pursuant to Article 1(3) of Directive 2010/
31/EU these shall be exempt from the obligation to notify
them to the Commission.
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(2) Technical building syst ems that are explicitly
covered by an agreed energy performance criterion or a
contractual arrangement specifying an agreed level of
energy efficiency improvement, such as energy
performance contracting, or t hat are operated by a utility
or network operator and there fore subject to performance
monitoring measures on the system side, shall be exemptfrom the requirements laid down in sub-regulation (1),provided that the overall impact of such an approach is
equivalent to that resulting from sub-regulation (1).
(3) As an alternative to sub-regulation (1) and
provided that the overall imp act is equivalent to that
resulting from sub-regulation (1), the BuildingRegulation Office may opt to t ake measures to ensure the
provision of advice to users concerning the replacement
of air-conditioning systems or systems for combined air-
conditioning and ventilation, other modifications to the
air-conditioning system or system for combined air-conditioning and ventilation an d alternative solutions to
assess the efficiency and appropriate size of thosesystems:
Provided that before applying these
alternative measures, the Building Regulation Office
shall, by means of submitting a report to the
Commission, document the equivalence of the impact of
those measures to the impact of the measures referred toin sub-regulation (1). Such a report shall be submitted in
accordance with the applicable planning and reporting
obligations.
(4) The Building Regulation Office shall provide
requirements to ensure that, where technically andeconomically feasible, non-residential buildings with an
effective rated output for systems for air-conditioning or
systems for combined air-conditioning and ventilation ofover 290kW are equipped with building automation and
control systems by 2025. The building automation andcontrol systems shall be capable of:
(a) continuously monitoring, logging,
analysing and allowing for  adjusting energy use;
(b) benchmarking the building’s energy
efficiency, detecting losses in efficiency oftechnical building systems, and informing the
person responsible for the facilities or technical
building management about opportunities for
energy efficiency improvement; and
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Amends 
regulation 33 of the principal 
regulations.9. Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 33 of the principal
regulations shall be substituted by the following:
"(2) The EPC assessor and the registered inspectors,
respectively, shall in particular provide information to the ow ners or
tenants of buildings on energy performance certificates, including their
purpose and objectives, on cost-effective measures and, whereappropriate, financial instruments, to improve the energy perfo rmance
of the building, and on replaci ng fossil fuel boilers with more
sustainable alternatives. Building Regulation Office shall provide theinformation through accessible and transparent advisory tools such as
renovation advice and one-stop-shops.".(c) allowing communication with
connected technical build ing systems and other
appliances inside the building, and beinginteroperable with technical building systems
across different types of  proprietary technologies,
devices and manufacturers.
(5) The Building Regulation Office may lay
down requirements to ensure that residential buildings
are equipped with:
(a) the functionality of continuous
electronic monitoring that measures systems’efficiency and informs building owners or
managers when it has fallen significantly and when
system servicing is necessary, and
(b) effective control functionalities to
ensure optimum generation, distribution, storageand use of energy.
(6) Buildings that comply with sub-regulation (4)
or sub-regulation (5) shall be exempt from the
requirements laid down in sub-regulation (1).
(7) The owner of an air- conditioning system shall
obtain an inspection re port by commissioning an
independent air-conditioning sy stems inspector, from the
list of registered air-condi tioning system inspectors as
published and updated by the Building Regulation Office
at the time of inspection.
(8) The Building Regulation Office shall
establish the methodology for the inspection of air-
conditioning systems. The Building Regulation Office
shall also set-up and approve training courses for air-
conditioning systems inspectors.".
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Ippubblikat mid-Dipartiment tal-Informazzjoni (doi.gov.mt) — Valletta — Published by the Department of Information (doi.gov.mt) — Valletta
Mitbugħ fl-Istamperija tal-Gvern fuq karta FSC — Printed at the Government Printing Press on FSC certified paper
Prezz/Price
€1.17
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