The Act on Amending and Supplementing the Energy Efficiency Act (Official Gazette 41/2021) entered into force on 24 April 2021.
Besides the adoption and implementation of the European legal framework on energy efficiency in the Croatian legal system, the most important amendment of the respective act refers to the method of calculating required majority of co-owners for rendering decisions on entering into energy performance contracts and contracts for execution of works on energy efficiency refurbishment for apartment buildings. While locals are already well acquainted with the concept of energy efficiency refurbishment, the energy performance contract is less known to public. It is a contract that is concluded between the user (e.g., co-owners of an apartment building) and provider of energy services, under which the provider of energy services undertakes to make investments in energy efficiency measures that will result in certain guaranteed energy savings for the user, while the user undertakes to pay compensation which is determined in line with agreed monetary value of energy savings that will be realized during the contractual relationship.
Pursuant to Article 29 Paragraph 1 and Article 30 Paragraph 2 of the Energy Efficiency Act (Official Gazette 127/2014, 116/2018, 25/2020, 32/2021), that was in force before the Act on Amending and Supplementing the Energy Efficiency Act (Official Gazette 41/2021) entered into force, decisions to enter into energy performance contracts and contracts for execution of works on energy efficiency refurbishment for apartment buildings were rendered by majority of the building’s co-owners calculated both per co-ownership share and number of co-owners.
Since criteria for calculating the co-owners’ majority was unclear i.e., it required majority of both co-ownership shares and number of co-owners, application of set criteria in practice raised many concerns regarding their understanding, implementation and self-contradiction. In case no. UI-663/2020, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia rendered a decision on constitutionality of Article 29 Paragraph 1 and Article 30 Paragraph 2 of the Energy Efficiency Act (Official Gazette 127/2014, 116/2018, 25/2020) and decided to annul these provisions, effective as of 15 September 2021, as contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia.
Before expiry of the time limit set by the Constitutional Court, the legislator remedied unconstitutionality of Article 29 Paragraph 1 and Article 30 Paragraph 2 of the Energy Efficiency Act by their amendment so that decisions on entering into energy performance contracts and contracts for execution of works on energy efficiency refurbishment for apartment buildings are now rendered by majority of votes of the building’s co-owners, that is calculated only per co-ownership shares.
Therefore, as of 24 April 2021, as the day of entry into force of the Act on Amending and Supplementing the Energy Efficiency Act (Official Gazette 41/2021), the majority of the building’s co-owners, required for rendering decisions on entering into energy performance contracts and contracts for execution of works on energy efficiency refurbishment for apartment buildings, is calculated only per co-ownership shares, and no longer per number of the building’s co-owners.
Filip Dmitrašinović
