BER sales and rental guidelines
Find the requirements and guidelines for including a property's Building Energy Rating (BER) in sale and rental advertisements.
Legal requirements
When offering a property for sale or rent you must ensure that:
- The current BER for the building is stated in all advertisements. All advertisements means public announcements in: newspapers, magazines, brochures, leaflets, advertising notices, vehicles, radio, television, internet (including apps and social media), and direct mail.
- Prospective buyers and renters can see the BER prominently in all advertisements
- If images of the property are used, the BER type displayed should be the BER Alphanumeric Rating Motif for the particular property.
Prospective tenants and buyers can request a copy of the BER certificate and Advisory report. If a BER is not advertised you can search for an existing one or notify the local building control authority.
Find an existing BERRegulations
The BER advertising requirements are set out in the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations found in the Irish Statute Book (S.I. 243 of 2012).
Exemptions
The following buildings do not require a BER or DEC:
- national monuments
- protected structures or proposed protected structures
- places of worship or buildings used for the religious activities of any religion
- certain temporary buildings
- industrial buildings not intended for extended human occupancy with a low installed heating capacity (≤10 W/m2)
- non-residential agricultural buildings with a low installed heating capacity (≤10 W/m2)
- stand alone buildings with a small useful floor area (<50m2)
Artwork files for displaying a BER
Estate agents and landlords can select the BER artwork files you require and download them in zip format. These contain the correct images for displaying a BER.
Open the zip files
Zip files are compressed folders containing several folders and files. You may need to download a data compression tool, such as WinZip, to open the file.
Select your image type
The zip files contain both EPS and PNG file types. PNG file types can be viewed using most images viewers. EPS files are generally only viewed using illustration software such as Adobe Illustrator.
View the images
- Click on a link e.g. 'A Rating artwork files'. Depending on the setup of your system you should be able to view or download the files contained within the zipped file.
- Open the 'A_BER' folder.
- Open the folder 'A_BER_RGB_Web_and_PC' . In order to view the motifs immediately, the 'Web_and_PC' folder must be selected to view or download.
- Open either the dual or single folder, depending on the type required.
- Open the 'PNG' folder.
- Double click on the rating that you want to view. This should open automatically in your default image viewer. If not you should consult with your system administrator or an IT specialist.