Energy rating G in Italy: what the EU green homes directive changes

Energy rating G is the lowest of the ten classes on the Italian energy performance certificate: the home needs more than three and a half times the energy of the same home built to today's standards. The EU "green homes" directive, Directive (EU) 2024/1275, does not require an individual owner to renovate by a set date, and it does not ban selling or letting a G-rated home. It asks each country to bring down the average consumption of its housing stock as a whole. As of 22 October 2026 Italy has not yet transposed it into national law, so anyone buying or selling today works under the existing rules.

What a G rating means

The Italian scale runs from A4, the best, down to G, through A3, A2, A1, B, C, D, E and F. It was set by the national guidelines in the ministerial decree of 26 June 2015. The assessor works out the home's overall non-renewable primary energy index (EPgl,nren, in kWh per square metre per year) and compares it with a reference building: the same home, with the same shape, in the same place and with the same type of heating system, but with the insulation and efficiency required by the minimum standards in force since 2021. If the index is more than 3.5 times the reference value, the home is rated G; to reach A4 it must stay within 40% of it.

The index assumes standard use and is not the energy bill: someone who heats the home a few hours a day may spend less than the letter suggests. Where to find a flat's rating, region by region, is explained on the page about the energy rating of a house in Italy.

How common G-rated homes are

Very common. In the report by ENEA (the national energy agency) and CTI published in 2025, covering certificates issued in 2024, 24.2% of certificates for homes are in class G and 21.2% in class F: 45.3% together, down on 2023. In total about 1.2 million valid certificates were issued in 2024.

These figures cover homes that got a certificate in 2024, mostly homes being sold or let, not the whole housing stock: the report notes that certificates for sales and lettings show worse values than those issued after a renovation. If you are browsing Italian listings, a G rating is nothing unusual.

What directive 2024/1275 requires

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive came into force in 2024 and had to be transposed by 29 May 2026. For existing homes the key part is Article 9(2). Each country sets a national renovation trajectory and must cut the average primary energy use of its whole residential stock by at least 16% by 2030 and by 20-22% by 2035, compared with 2020, on the way to a zero-emission stock by 2050. At least 55% of that cut has to come from renovating the 43% of residential buildings with the worst performance, which puts homes rated F and G first in line.

The directive leaves the choice of tools to each country: minimum energy performance standards, technical assistance, financial support. It contains no date by which an individual home must reach a given class. The idea that "every home must be at least class E by 2030" comes from the European Parliament's position of March 2023, which asked for class E by 2030 and D by 2033; that obligation is not in the text that was adopted. If Italy chooses minimum standards for homes as well, it may exempt, among others, buildings protected for their historic value and homes used for less than four months a year.

The other rules that matter to a buyer:

• new buildings must be zero-emission from 1 January 2028 if publicly owned and from 1 January 2030 for all (Article 7);
• from 1 January 2025 countries no longer give incentives for installing stand-alone boilers that run on fossil fuels (Article 17(15));
• the certificate will follow a common EU template with a closed scale from A to G, where A means a zero-emission building and G the worst-performing buildings in the national stock when the scale is introduced (Article 19). An extra A+ class is allowed. Today's four classes A1 to A4 have no place in this scheme, and the switch will be set by the Italian decree.

Where Italy stands

Transposition has not happened yet. On 15 July 2026 the European Commission sent letters of formal notice to all 27 member states for failing to notify their transposition measures. On 1 October 2026 it sent Italy a reasoned opinion (case INFR(2026)2024) for not submitting the draft national building renovation plan, which was due by 31 December 2025: Italy has two months to reply, after which the case may go to the EU Court of Justice.

On 8 October 2026, answering in the Senate, the environment and energy security minister said the government is preparing the legislative decree, and that its adoption depends on the 2026 European delegation law (the yearly act that lets the government transpose EU directives), approved by the Council of Ministers on 4 August and now before the Senate. He gave no date for the decree and announced no new incentives.

Still to be decided: the figures of the Italian trajectory, whether minimum standards will apply to homes, the support for owners who renovate and when the new certificate scale starts. Until the decree arrives, certificates are drawn up under the 2015 rules with classes A4 to G.

Buying or selling a G-rated home today

A G-rated home can be sold and let like any other. The rules on the certificate, the APE (attestato di prestazione energetica), are in Legislative Decree 192/2005, article 6. Every listing, in any medium, must show the class and the performance indices. The seller must make the APE available when negotiations start and hand it over at the end. The deed signed before the notary (the rogito) contains a clause in which the buyer confirms receiving it, and a copy is attached: if it is missing, the parties are jointly liable for a fine of 3,000 to 18,000 euros. If there is no APE, the seller has to commission one first.

Once you have the certificate, four things are worth reading:

• the issue date: it lasts up to ten years and must be redone if a renovation or a new system changes the class;
• the heating system logbook (libretto d'impianto), which must be attached to the APE: if the boiler's periodic checks were skipped, the certificate lapses on 31 December of the year after the missed deadline;
• the EPgl,nren index and the estimated yearly consumption, which show better than the letter how far the home is from the next classes;
• the assessor's recommendations, with the most cost-effective works and the class they would reach.

The recommendations do not come with reliable prices. The cost of moving up from G depends on walls, windows, heating and climate zone, and only a surveyor (geometra or engineer) can tell you after an inspection: before making an offer, ask what works would lift the home two or three classes and what they would cost. In a block of flats, external insulation, the roof and a shared boiler are decided at the owners' meeting: the questions to ask are in Questions for the building manager before buying a flat, and those for the owner in Questions to ask the seller before buying a house in Italy.

Works and tax relief in 2026

For spending in 2026 the 2026 budget law (law 199/2025) kept the 2025 rates. The renovation bonus is 50% when the works are on the owner's main residence (abitazione principale) and are paid by the owner or by the holder of another property right, and 36% in other cases, on spending of up to 96,000 euros per unit, with the relief spread over ten years. The ecobonus for energy-saving works follows the same two rates. In 2027 they drop to 36% and 30%. Stand-alone fossil fuel boilers have been excluded from both since 2025.

Two points matter if you buy from abroad. The relief is a deduction from Italian income tax (IRPEF), so it only helps if you pay income tax in Italy. And the Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian tax agency) requires you to own the home when works start, or when the first payment is made if that comes earlier. If the home is not yet your main residence when works begin, the 50% rate still applies as long as it becomes your main residence when they end (ruling no. 119/2026). In practice: complete the purchase first, then start the works.

Some banks offer "green" mortgages linked to the energy class or to works: requirements and terms vary from bank to bank, so compare them like any other mortgage.

What the report says about energy ratings

The report analyses the building. In Lombardy and Piedmont, the two regions that publish certificates with the address, it includes a section on energy ratings: how many APEs there are for the flats at that address, the most frequent class, how many are rated F or G and the declared year of construction, compared with the certificates within 300 metres. The section works on at least three certificates, so it describes the building and the area while respecting the privacy of the people who live there (Energy rating of buildings explains how we handle this data).

For a single flat, its own APE is what counts. The report adds natural hazards, the seismic zone, local prices as a range, services, transport and the questions to ask before the deed, as the full sample report shows. The other checks are in the guide What to check before buying a house in Italy.

Frequently asked questions

Can you sell a G-rated home in Italy?

Yes. Neither directive 2024/1275 nor Italian law bans selling a home rated G. You need a valid APE, the class must appear in the listing, and the certificate must be given to the buyer and attached to the deed.

Will letting a G-rated home be banned from 2030?

Not today, and the directive does not provide for it. It does ask countries not to leave rented homes disproportionately out of their renovation efforts. Whether Italy introduces rules for lettings will be set by the transposition decree, which does not exist as of 22 October 2026.

Will my home stay in class G on the new EU scale?

Not necessarily. On the new scale G will match the worst buildings in the national stock at the time the scale is introduced, and the thresholds will be set by the Italian decree. Today an APE lasts up to ten years; what happens to certificates already issued will be decided by the decree.

Sources

• Directive (EU) 2024/1275 on the energy performance of buildings, text on EUR-Lex: articles 7, 9, 17, 19 and 35.
• Legislative Decree 192/2005, article 6 (APE in listings, negotiations and deeds; validity; fines).
• Interministerial decree of 26 June 2015, national guidelines on energy performance certificates.
• ENEA and CTI, Annual report on the energy certification of buildings 2025, executive summary (certificates issued in 2024); SIAPE, the national register of certificates.
• European Commission, letters of formal notice of 15 July 2026 and infringements package of 1 October 2026.
• Department for European Affairs, 2026 European delegation law; Edilportale, Direttiva Case Green, Governo al lavoro sul decreto di recepimento, 12 October 2026.
• European Parliament, the position voted on 14 March 2023.
• Agenzia delle Entrate, tax relief for building renovation, ecobonus guide and ruling no. 119/2026 (in Italian).