Energy certificate for a loan: the class required by Noua Casă and green loans (BCR Casa Mea NaturA)

A buyer who comes to the auditor with a loan offer in hand does not ask "how much does the certificate cost", but "will the class be enough for the bank?". The answer depends on the programme in which the document is used, and the conditions are not the same everywhere. This guide starts from the public pages of FNGCIMM and BCR, read on 21 October 2026, and from the texts of the legal acts behind them. For the real estate agent, the useful point is that a certificate that is good for a sale is not automatically good for the buyer's bank as well.

What energy class does the Noua Casă programme require?

On the programme page, FNGCIMM lists the "Documentele necesare" (Required documents), that is, the documents the bank attaches to the guarantee request. Among them is "Certificatul de eficienta energetica pentru una dintre clasele A, B sau C de eficienta energetica" (The energy efficiency certificate for one of the energy efficiency classes A, B or C) (our translation). The class condition comes from the programme rules: HG no. 717/2009, annex no. 2, art. 1 lit. b^1) ("the dwelling purchased under the programme falls into one of the energy efficiency classes A, B or C") (our translation).

Neither the FNGCIMM page nor the programme rules (HG no. 717/2009) set a condition on the issue date of the certificate. The text gives the required class (A, B or C) and the fact that the document goes into the guarantee file. If a particular bank requires something in addition (for example a recently issued certificate), this is learned from the bank, not from the programme page.

What does BCR require for Casa Mea NaturA?

On property eligibility, the BCR page says: "locuințe construite după 2000, cu clasă energetică A sau cu clasă energetică B, certificat emis începând cu 16.02.2023 SAU - locuințele certificate de Romanian Green Building Council" (dwellings built after 2000, with energy class A or with energy class B, certificate issued starting from 16.02.2023 OR - dwellings certified by the Romanian Green Building Council) (our translation).

There are therefore two alternative routes: the energy class (A or B) or certification by the Romanian Green Building Council. The date condition concerns only class B: further down, on the same page, the bank requires the energy performance certificate "cu încadrarea imobilului în clasa energetică A (sau clasă energetică B, dacă e certificat emis începând cu 16.02.2023)" (with the property classified in energy class A (or energy class B, if the certificate was issued starting from 16.02.2023)) (our translation).

Why exactly 16 February 2023?

It coincides with the date of entry into force of Order MDLPA no. 16/2023, which approves Mc 001-2022: the order was published in the Official Gazette no. 46 of 17.01.2023 and enters into force "în 30 de zile de la data publicării" (30 days after the date of publication) (our translation) (art. 2 para. (1)). The BCR page does not explain the choice of the date. Para. (2) of the same article provides that sub-chapters 2.6-2.12 of chapter 2 and chapter 3 of the methodology enter into force 180 days after publication, that is, 16 July 2023. The details are in the guide Order MDLPA 16/2023. For you, as an auditor, the practical consequence is simple: a class B certificate issued before 16.02.2023 does not meet the BCR condition, even if it is still valid.

Validity is judged separately. Law no. 372/2005 provides 10 years from the issue date entered on the certificate (art. 21 para. (2)), except in the case of major renovation that changes consumption. A certificate can therefore be perfectly valid with respect to the law and still unsuitable for a bank product that requires a minimum issue date. The two criteria do not replace each other.

Does the calculation program used matter?

From the pages read, no. FNGCIMM requires the class, BCR requires the class, the date (for class B) and the year of construction. Neither names a calculation program. From the pages read, the bank looks at the class and the date on the certificate; a certificate without a unique code, however, is null by law (art. 21 para. (8) of Law no. 372/2005) and cannot support the file. How the classes A-G are read is explained in the guide Energy classes A-G, and the issuing rules in the guide Energy performance certificate.

Are there other green loans?

Other banks may also have "green" loan products or products with advantageous conditions for energy-efficient dwellings. Each publishes its own conditions, and these differ from one another and change over time. That is why the guide does not compare them: the useful takeaway is the question you ask the client, not a list of banks.

What to ask the client before the work

The cheapest mistake to avoid arises at the order, not at delivery. Before the survey, find out:

• what loan or programme the client has in view (Noua Casă, a green loan, an ordinary loan);
• what class the bank requires and whether it has conditions on date or type of construction, such as the year of construction at BCR (the page writes once "construite după 2000" and once "construite începând cu anul 2000"; for a building from 2000, ask for the bank's answer in writing);
• whether the certificate will also be used for the sale advertisement, in which case the owner is obliged to state in the advertisement the performance indicators from the certificate (art. 24 of Law no. 372/2005, which refers to art. 6: primary energy, energy class, CO2 emissions, energy from renewable sources).

If the client does not know, ask them to ask the bank and send you the answer in writing. A class that comes out "borderline" in a calculation can be the difference between an accepted file and a rejected one, and the client must learn this before paying.

Points to watch

• A certificate older than 16.02.2023 is reused for a loan that requires a certificate issued starting from this date. The BCR condition is not met.
• The 10-year validity is confused with acceptance by the bank. These are two different criteria.
• The class is promised before the calculation. The class results from the data and from Mc 001-2022, not from the client's wish or the bank's requirement.
• The certificate is delivered without a unique registration code, which is null by law (art. 21 para. (8)).
• The bank's conditions are cited from memory or from an old advertisement. The pages are updated; ask for and keep what the bank said in writing.
• The difference between a building and an apartment is forgotten. A block-of-flats apartment is classified with a different class table than a house, and the class on the certificate must correspond to the financed object. See the guide CPE for an apartment.

How a calculation program helps

A calculation program does not change what the bank requires, but it shortens the way to the answer: you enter the data once and can quickly see what class results and what measures would move the building to the next class, before talking to the client about the loan. Zephren calculates the class according to Mc 001-2022 and completes the certificate model and the annexes. The certificate is signed and answered for by the certified auditor. Zephren has no official validation from MDLPA and does not replace the field survey. You can go through the workflow on the data of a building of your own in the Zephren calculation program, with the free trial.

*Verified on 21 October 2026, against the public pages of FNGCIMM (Noua Casă) and BCR (Casa Mea NaturA), Order MDLPA no. 16/2023 and Law no. 372/2005 (republished, consolidated form after Law no. 238/2024). The conditions of banks and programmes may change; check them with the bank. Courtesy translation; the Romanian version prevails. This is not financial or legal advice.*