Kosovo's Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (MMPH) published a draft regulation on energy performance certification (EPC) of buildings on September 23, 2026, the first secondary legislation to operationalize the EPC duties in Law No. 08/L-242. The draft sets an A+ to G energy class scale, a central electronic register, a licensed assessor regime, and an independent quality control system that the 2024 law left pending.
Law 08/L-242 has been in force since June 12, 2024, but its Article 13 EPC obligations could not be applied in practice because the procedural rules, assessor licensing, and calculation software did not yet exist. The draft, issued under Article 14(3) of that law, states that it is partially aligned with Directive (EU) 2018/844 amending Directive 2010/31/EU (the EPBD). Kosovo is not an EU member state, so the directive has no direct effect there; alignment runs through the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the Energy Community Treaty.
Which buildings need an EPC, and when does the duty bite?
The draft makes an EPC mandatory in four cases under Article 4: new buildings and units; existing buildings undergoing major renovation; any existing building or unit sold or rented; and existing buildings with usable floor area over 250 m² that are frequently visited by the public or used by a public authority. It introduces two certificate types. An "as designed" EPC is filed at the building permit stage for new builds and major renovations, verifying minimum performance or near-zero-energy (NKAZE) criteria. An "as built" EPC is required at the use permit stage after construction, and for existing buildings sold, rented, or open to the public. The as-built certificate replaces the as-designed one and is valid for 10 years.
How do the PEPEN platform and assessor licensing work?
All certificates are issued and stored through PEPEN, the Electronic Platform for Energy Performance of Buildings, administered by the ministry. The owner engages a licensed energy assessor from the ministry's public list; the assessor opens a case in PEPEN, which assigns a unique certificate identifier, inspects the building, and runs the calculation through ministry-approved software. The assessor must complete and issue the certificate within 30 days of opening the case, or PEPEN automatically dismisses it. Assessors are licensed for five years, must retain technical documentation and original calculations for at least 12 years, and apply the ministry's Code of Practice. An administrative tariff, charged to the assessor at registration, is set by ministerial decision on a cost-recovery basis after a public consultation of at least 15 days.
What energy classes apply, and what are the independent control rules?
Buildings are ranked on an eight-class scale from A+ (best) to G (worst), set by a performance indicator (PE). Class D marks the minimum energy performance requirement; classes above D are more efficient. Certificates and their accompanying reports are subject to independent control by authorized controllers. Each year, 5% of certificates registered in PEPEN are randomly selected for review, and every assessor is checked at least once every five years. The controller proposes approval, correction, or cancellation: correction applies when supplied or primary energy per m² is off by over 10% but not more than 20%, or CO2 emissions by the same margin; cancellation applies when the energy class changes, when those deviations exceed 20%, or when mandatory documentation is missing. The assessor must correct within 30 days, and a cancelled certificate triggers a re-assessment at the assessor's cost.
| Element | Under Law 08/L-242 alone | Under the draft regulation |
|---|---|---|
| Energy class scale | Not defined | A+ to G, class D is the minimum |
| Issuance and register | No platform | PEPEN electronic platform, 30-day issuance |
| Assessor regime | Pending | Five-year licence, 12-year record retention |
| Independent control | Pending | 5% random sampling per year, correct or cancel |
| Tariffs | Pending | Ministerial decision, 15-day public consultation |
What must owners, developers, and municipalities do now?
Owners must provide accurate data, grant access for the site visit, display the certificate in public and commercial buildings over 250 m², renew it after any major renovation or change of use, and hand it over on sale or lease. Real-estate advertising for any sale or rental must state the energy class. Municipalities must require an EPC at the building permit stage. Developers of new builds and major renovations should plan for both the as-designed certificate at permit and the as-built certificate at the use-permit stage.
The draft carries no number (Projekt Rregullore Nr. __/2026) and no entry-into-force date; it will bind only after adoption and publication in the Official Gazette. Stakeholders who deferred EPC compliance under Law 08/L-242 should treat the draft as the signal that the operational layer is arriving. Continuous, per-jurisdiction monitoring surfaces a draft like this the moment a ministry posts it, before it reaches the official journal.
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Next steps: check whether your buildings fall under the Article 4 trigger cases, confirm that your energy assessor holds a valid licence, and brief your permitting and real-estate teams on the display and advertising duties. Track the draft through adoption and gazette publication, since the 30-day issuance clock and the tariff only activate once the regulation enters into force.
