Property tax reduction for green building owners in Cluj-Napoca

The Cluj-Napoca City Council  delivered a positive example to the nation being the first municipality in Romania to adopt specific measures for encouraging green building development. The City Council voted on May 24 to provide a 50% reduction in property taxes for buildings earning a green certification and achieving the top score on the energy efficiency rating.

This decision shall apply only to buildings that are certified by three certification systems recognized worldwide:

• LEED;
• BREEAM;
• DGNB;

According to the latest decision, starting with 2013:

• building owners that are legal entities will pay half of the annual building tax for buildings with an A level in the energy performance certificate and that have obtained an official green building certification. This  practically means  that the annual property tax was reduced from 0.50% to 0.25% for green buildings in Cluj Napoca;

• for individuals  the City Council granted a 50% reduction of annual property taxes on residential buildings that have an A level in the Energy Performance Certificate and an official green building certification issued by any of the three systems mentioned above.

To be eligible for the property tax reduction the building owners have to present:  

• the final reception certificate issued by the local planning service;

• the energy performance certificate;

• the green building certificate issued by any of the three systems: LEED, BREEAM or DGNB;

• declaration of conformity issued by the Romania Green Building Council.

The project was initiated by the local councilors and the executive team from Cluj-Napoca City Hall: Irsay Miklos, Laszlo Attila, Csoma Botond, Somogyi Gyula and Molnos Lajos, Virgil Porutiu, Victor Radoi.

We would like to congratulate and thank them for the initiative!

The RoGBC would also like to thank the following persons for their support and involvement in obtaining this legislative success:

• Dorin Beu, Director RoGBC Transilvania;
• Luiza Manolea, Attorney at Law – RoGBC General Member;
• Razvan Nica, BuildGreen Romania – RoGBC General Member;
• Elena Rastei, ecovision – RoGBC General Member

“The Romania Green Building Council will provide assurance to Cluj-Napoca that only qualified green buildings are provided this benefit and assist project developers interested in obtaining this certification.” explains Dorin Beu Ph.D. , Director of RoGBC’s Transilvania chapter.

“This is an excellent and timely move as the economic benefits to the project and community include higher building valuations, lower operating costs, creation of green jobs, reduced impact on traffic and other infrastructure, and, importantly, attracting high quality local and foreign investment to Cluj-Napoca.  Many of the top tier companies investing in the region are seeking the benefits of green buildings ” added Steven Borncamp, Founding President and CEO of RoGBC.

The RoGBC has campaigned since its inception for these type of “green economy” stimulus measures arguing that it is a desired way to both encourage economic growth during challenging times while using the long term financial benefits to repay any early investments.   In addition, this organization has argued that this will ensure local businesses and professions remain competitive as building and related energy standards increase across Europe and the world.

“Many cities in Europe, driven by the new stringent EU regulations on energy efficiency and green energy production,  have adopted specific local incentives for buildings.   Most of them are targeting building renovations or directed to the public buildings.   The Cluj-Napoca initiative improves on these by also including private developers and new construction and focusing beyond energy efficiency and green energy to reward other essential elements of such as ecological materials, site selection and management, and transport issues. ” explains Anca Bieru Robinson- RoGBC’s Director of International Relations and Policy and Chairperson of Europe Green Building Council Network Policy Task Force who has been guiding policy analysis and formation at the European and National and Municipal levels in Romania.

Encouraged by this action in Cluj-Napoca, the  RoGBC intends to continue its efforts to encourage other municipalities to adopt similar measures across the country.

Read the official document on the Cluj City Hall website here