Italy's framework law on the energy performance of buildings. It transposes the European EPBD directives and defines minimum requirements for new and renovated buildings, the Energy Performance Certificate, nearly zero-energy buildings and the rules for operating and inspecting heating systems, referring limit values to implementing decrees.
It applies to new and existing buildings, public and private, and to their technical systems: design of new constructions, major renovations and energy upgrading works, performance certification upon construction, sale and lease, and the operation and inspection of heating systems. Article 3 sets out specific exclusions: among others, listed buildings only insofar as compliance would alter their character or appearance, industrial and craft buildings heated by their production process, non-residential rural buildings without climate-control systems, isolated buildings with a usable floor area below 50 m² and places of worship. It concerns designers, energy certifiers, builders, owners, tenants and system managers.
Legislative Decree 192/2005 is Italy's framework law on the energy performance of buildings. Born to transpose Directive 2002/91/EC (EPBD), it has been deeply rewritten over time — first by Decree-Law 63/2013, converted into Law 90/2013, which transposed Directive 2010/31/EU, then by Legislative Decree 48/2020, which transposed Directive (EU) 2018/844 — to the point that its current title cites all three directives. The decree defines criteria, methodologies and tools to improve the energy performance of the building stock: minimum requirements for new buildings and for those undergoing works, energy performance certification, operation, maintenance and inspection of heating systems, requirements for certifiers, controls and penalties.
It is a "two-storey" piece of legislation: the decree sets principles, definitions and obligations, and refers numerical values to implementing decrees. The main one is the Ministerial Decree of 26 June 2015, the so-called "minimum requirements" decree, which establishes calculation methodologies and performance limits — transmittances, performance indices, efficiencies — through comparison with the reference building, a building identical in geometry and use but with predefined energy parameters.
The system grades requirements by the extent of the works. New constructions — including demolition and reconstruction and significant extensions — must meet the full performance package, including the nearly zero-energy obligation. A first-level major renovation affects more than 50 per cent of the gross heat-loss surface of the envelope together with the replacement of the heating system: requirements are verified on the whole building. A second-level major renovation affects more than 25 per cent of the heat-loss surface: requirements apply to the portion concerned. Below these thresholds the works qualify as energy upgrading: verifications are limited to the individual components and elements involved.
The limit values attached to each level are not in this decree: they sit in the Ministerial Decree of 26 June 2015 and its updates, to which this entry refers without reproducing its tables. The update that matters today is the Ministerial Decree of 28 October 2025, which wholly replaced Annexes 1 and 2 of the 2015 decree with effect from 3 June 2026: for titles applied for before that date, the earlier annexes still apply.
Article 6 governs the APE (Energy Performance Certificate), which in 2013 replaced the former energy certification document. It is mandatory for new buildings and for those undergoing major renovation, upon sale, transfer for consideration and new lease contracts; the energy class must be stated in sale and rental advertisements. The certificate is valid for a maximum of ten years, conditional on compliance with the energy-efficiency checks of the systems recorded in the system logbook, and lapses if works change the building's class.
The national certification guidelines — also updated by a decree of 26 June 2015 — define the single national template and the ten-class scale, from A4, the most efficient, to G. The certificate is drawn up by qualified professionals under Presidential Decree 75/2013 and feeds the national information system SIAPE, managed by ENEA.
Article 4-bis sets the destination: from 1 January 2019 new public buildings, and from 1 January 2021 all new buildings, must be nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) — very low energy demand, covered to a very significant extent by renewable sources. The operational definition, with reinforced parameters and renewable-integration obligations, sits in the Ministerial Decree of 26 June 2015 and in the renewables legislation. The decree thus belongs to the European trajectory towards the decarbonisation of the building stock by 2050, supported by the national long-term renovation strategies.
The consolidated text of the decree in force, with the amendments layered over time, can be consulted free of charge on Normattiva at the official source indicated on this sheet.
Where this rule shows up in past architect qualification exams — study the rule, not just the theme.
For new buildings and those undergoing major renovation, and upon sale, transfer for consideration or a new lease contract. The energy class must also appear in commercial sale and rental advertisements.
Maximum validity is ten years, provided the energy-efficiency checks of the systems recorded in the logbook are complied with. It lapses earlier if works are carried out that change the energy class of the building or unit.
They are the ten-class scale defined by the 2015 national guidelines: they measure the overall energy performance of the property in non-renewable primary energy, from A4 (most efficient) to G (least efficient), by comparison with the reference building.
A nearly zero-energy building has a very low energy demand, covered to a very significant extent by renewable sources. It is mandatory for new public buildings since 1 January 2019 and for all new buildings since 1 January 2021 (Article 4-bis).
The first level affects more than 50% of the gross heat-loss surface of the envelope together with the replacement of the heating system, and requires verification on the whole building. The second level affects more than 25% of the heat-loss surface, with requirements applied to the portion concerned.
Not in Legislative Decree 192/2005: the numerical values are in the Ministerial Decree of 26 June 2015 on minimum requirements, which also defines the calculation methodologies and the reference-building method. Mind the edition: the Ministerial Decree of 28 October 2025 wholly replaced its Annexes 1 and 2 with effect from 3 June 2026, while for building titles applied for before that date the 2015 annexes still apply.
Professionals qualified under Presidential Decree 75/2013: certified technicians independent of the property being certified. Certificates feed the national SIAPE information system, managed by ENEA, and the regional energy registers.
Yes, and if anything it has become the reference by default. Directive (EU) 2024/1275 (EPBD IV) has been in force since 28 May 2024, but the 29 May 2026 transposition deadline passed without Italy adopting the implementing legislative decree; the European Commission opened infringement proceedings in July 2026. Until transposition arrives, Legislative Decree 192/2005 — with its implementing decrees — remains the national reference in force.